


Nova Olympia

by Malkuthe



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Daddy Kink, Dubious Consent, Future AU, Jason Grace - Freeform, M/M, dubcon, jercy - Freeform, jercy fanfiction, older partner, older!jason, perseus jackson - Freeform, science fiction AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-09
Updated: 2016-05-18
Packaged: 2018-05-05 20:37:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 49,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5389418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malkuthe/pseuds/Malkuthe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Born to parents who escaped a dying world only to find themselves in another dying world, and swept up into the grand games and schemes of corporate politics, Percy Jackson must tread his way through the dangerous straits ahead. Left with no other choice but to turn to an older man, Jason Grace, CEO of Pantheon Industries and de-facto president of the New Rome group of companies, who may well be C-Vita Lyrae's last hope of saving the planet from its approaching doom, Percy finds himself entangled in much more than he had bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Perseus Jackson

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CarpeDM](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarpeDM/gifts), [razielim](https://archiveofourown.org/users/razielim/gifts), [yvieinsane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yvieinsane/gifts).



“Let’s get this straight, _Perseus,_ ” said Octavian, the perpetual sneer on his face impossibly more stuck-up and annoying. “As his new Personal Assistant, your job will be to take care of _whatever_ it is that he needs. Do you understand?”

Octavian tapped the top of the clipboard that he was holding to his chest. Percy had just about had enough of the pasty-skinned fuck-faced blond that _everyone_ went to _great_ lengths just to avoid. It wasn’t even because Octavian used to be the P.A. of the man that was the _de facto_ CEO and President of the New Rome group of companies.

“Yes, Octavian,” Percy said through gritted teeth. He was _pretty_ sure that Octavian was being aggravating on purpose by using his given name. He had _very_ clearly said that he _strongly_ preferred being called Percy. HR had even agreed to put “Percy” on his name tag—though not on his official company-issued intern ID.

“Good,” said Octavian. “Get to it,” Octavian continued, as he walked past and practically _slammed_ the clipboard into Percy’s chest. Percy grunted, the wind knocked out of him. “I’m going to enjoy my new position as co-director of Project SIBYL.” Percy _really_ tried to fake a smile at Octavian, but ended up scowling, instead.

“Who would give an asshole like that a job as a co-director for one of the company’s most important projects?” Percy grumbled under his breath as he pushed open the heavy doors. They were the only ones of their kind in the whole building. The rest were hydraulic—as was the ubiquitous design these days.

“Sir,” Percy said a little timidly as he took in the sight of the president’s office. It was a strange place, truth be told. It _looked_ like a study straight out of Victorian England. So out of place in a world where sleek steel and glass had become the norm. “You wanted to see me?”

“I did,” said the man, Dr. Grace, standing by the only ‘modern’ fixture in the entire room—the massive windows that stretched from floor to ceiling. “And for the record, the kind of man that would give Octavian a job as co-director for Project SIBYL is the kind of man that has known for decades that it is a dead end.”

“Y-You heard that?” Percy stammered, lowering his head in deference to one of the most powerful men on the planet. “I-I’m so sorry, sir,” he said, voice as soft as the pink that crept up his cheeks.

A moment of silence passed. Dr. Grace did not move a single muscle, icy blue eyes still staring out onto the skyline of Nova Olympia. “Hold on, sir,” said Percy, finally realizing what had just been revealed to him. “What do you mean that Project SIBYL is a dead end, sir? Why spend billions of marks every year on the project if it’s not going to succeed?”

Percy supposed he should be more respectful of his boss, but everything he _thought_ he knew had just been thrown out of one of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Because the people need _hope,_ Percy,” said Dr. Grace, turning from the window for a moment to look over his shoulder at his new P.A. Dr. Grace adjusted the golden frame of his glasses, made the bridge sit lower on his nose. He looked at Percy with strikingly blue eyes. “We _all_ need a little hope, don’t we?”

“O-of course, sir,” Percy stammered. He looked around the room, suddenly uncomfortable. What was he supposed to do with the knowledge that the _one_ project that all the people of Nova Olympia looked to was just a facade meant to keep them hoping. “D-do you need anything else, sir? Or can I go back to my office?”

Dr. Grace chuckled and pivoted where he stood. He looked at Percy with such intensity that Percy felt his legs lock up. He wanted to leave. He _really_ did. But he was frozen on the spot. “Call me Jason in privacy,” said Dr. Grace, with a smile that somehow managed to be both warm and chilling.

“Perseus Jackson. Aged 19 years old.” said Jason, as he walked slowly toward his new P.A. “Mother: Sally Jackson. Deceased Step-father: Gabriel Ugliano. _Current_ Step-father: Paul Blofis. **_Actual Father_** : Disgraced CEO of Trident Incorporated and co-owner of the Hellene Group of Companies—government alias Poseidon. A bastard of one of the few people on this planet that have fallen so far from grace.”

Percy felt a chill run up the length of his spine. He was always afraid when something, _anything_ asked for biometric identification. He wasn’t necessarily _ashamed_ of his heritage, but it was certainly inconvenient. “Sir, I don’t know why this is relev—”

“It is _in fact,_ very relevant to why you are in this office right now,” said Jason, his deep voice startling Percy from his daze. He hadn’t realized that the older man had come to stand up right in front of him. “Come,” said Jason, gesturing toward the grand wooden desk that sat in the middle of the room, “Take a seat.”

Percy gaped at his boss for a moment, watching as Jason walked over to the desk and sat on what was _basically_ a throne.

“Come on,” said Jason, leaning back with a very cat-like grace. He reached forward and picked up a folder from his desk. “Perseus Jackson. Top of his class. Graduated Vocational School a whole five years ahead of the planetary average—four years ahead of dominion average. Offered a full scholarship to and enrolled in the Institute for Extraterrestrial Marine Chimerobiology as its historically _youngest_ student.”

Percy had not seen _actual_ paper files used in a _very_ long time, but the one that Jason took out of the folder seemed very familiar. It was a report card, one that he had only ever seen holographically projected. Jason held in his hands the original.

“Commended for excellent academic work. Proved to have an almost unnatural aptitude for working with marine creatures, both chimeric and not.” Jason set the report card down with a slight smirk. He looked up at Percy and gestured with a single finger—the ‘come here’ hooking motion that Percy had only ever seen done in movies.

Jason took out another page from the folder, though this one he flipped around to show Percy. It was an image of a creature that seemed to be half-serpent, half-bull. “Instrumental in the preservation of the _Ophiotaurus olympii,_ affectionately nicknamed ‘Bessie’ in a classic case of mistaken gender identity.”

Percy felt like his face was on fire. Dr. Grace—Jason—had evidently done his homework. He was pretty sure that his work with Bessie was protected by the planetary government, and he had _definitely_ told no one but the institute’s archivist that he had named the _Ophiotaurus_ Bessie because he had initially thought it was female.

Percy could not imagine why the CEO would take such an interest in him, but then again, he supposed that he _did_ have quite the storied history. Despite his mind screaming at him to run, Percy found himself walking toward the desk. Timidly, he sat down in one of the chairs, wondering what else Jason had managed to dig up on him.

“Applied for a full scholarship to the Nova Roma Institute for Advanced Research,” said Jason, as he put down the entire file, fingers splayed to either side of the folder. “Rejected for the presence of Hellene DNA in biometric identification. Recommended, instead, to apply to the Hellene Research Academy.”

“Look, sir,” said Percy, at his wit’s end. There were things that he _didn’t_ want to be reminded of, least of all his rejection from the Nova Roma Institute. “It was a difficult time. I didn’t have money. I didn’t know—”

“I know you didn’t have money,” said Jason, stark blue eyes flashing with something that Percy couldn’t quite read. “What I don’t know is why, if you didn’t have money, you applied for an unpaid internship position in _my_ company.”

Jason picked up a small glass cube from the edge of the table, utterly out-of-place among the more traditional implements of work. He spun the cube on his palm and rolled his eyes as it split into four pieces that flew apart to form the corners of a holographic screen.

“Perseus Jackson,” said Jason, “Asked very _nicely_ that his name tag say Percy instead of Perseus. Self-professed conscientious objector to biometric identification—possibly due to Hellene heritage.” Percy felt his face flush. It was somewhat humiliating to have his entire history outlined to him like this. It was like a slap in the face.

“I applied for the guaranteed free room and board, sir,” said Percy, meekly.

Jason tapped his fingers on the stop on an ink bottle that sat beside a stack of parchment. “Is that all?” he asked. Percy looked up and saw a look of skepticism in his boss’ eyes.

“No, sir,” said Percy. He hung his head in shame. Since it was so apparent that Jason had the power to access information he shouldn’t have been able to, Percy suspected it was going to be only a matter of time before Jason would figure out that it wasn’t just about the board and food. He supposed it was better to come clean now than be caught red-handed later.

“I applied so that maybe I could eventually get enough favour to get into the Academy,” Percy said, bashfully. “And then, I was hoping that maybe once I had a little more traction, I could get Bessie moved somewhere better for him.”

“Better for him?” asked Jason, with a raised eyebrow. Truth be told, he had only managed to procure things that _directly_ had to do with Percy. Anything to do with Bessie was still a closely-guarded secret between the government and the Hellenes.

Percy felt more warmth creep into his cheeks. He didn’t know why he was discussing this with his boss, the one man that probably _shouldn’t_ be getting his hands on Bessie. “Yes, sir,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, sir, but if I told you why Bessie is not safe in Nova Olympia, I would get shot on the spot.”

Percy looked up and saw a somehow-sympathetic smirk on Jason’s face. “ _No one_ is safe on Nova Olympia,” he said. “No one is safe on this damned planet as long as Project SIBYL fails to produce the improved Oracle Drive.”

Percy fidgeted nervously where he sat. He could feel Jason looking him over, gauging him, measuring his reactions. As intimidated as he felt by this older man, he had secrets that he _had_ to keep, lest Bessie and his one informant among the Hellenes be put in grave danger.

“I see,” said Jason, with a cryptic smile on his face. His eyes flicked over to the security camera in the corner of the room, which, until this moment, had been off. Percy’s eyes followed Jason’s. He saw the red indicator flash on.

“Yes, Percy,” said Jason. “I wanted to see you. I know it’s your first day on the job, but I wanted you to know that you don’t have to stress out around me.” Percy was more than a little bit shocked at the sudden change in demeanour that Jason had gone through.

“Anyway,” said Jason. “Let me tell you, I have just had the strangest epiphany. I know it sounds a little bit crazy, but bear with me on this—” Percy couldn’t help but wonder why it was that Jason had just _now_ turned on the security camera. “—Could it be that the _Ophiotaurus_ has something to do with getting the improved Oracle Drive to work?”

Percy felt something cold settle into the pit of his stomach. He tried to formulate a response, but the letters simply wouldn’t come together in his head—much less the words. He looked up, at a loss, at Jason. Then, he saw the sparkle of mischief in those blue eyes.

The realization hit Percy like a sack of bricks. He briefly glanced at the security camera again. It was trained on the two of them. Video evidence. “I don’t know, sir,” Percy managed. His voice trembled. His right eyelid twitched. “It sounds far fetched!” he said.

Percy’s eyes flitted to where Jason was tapping on the stopper of the ink bottle. There was a faint rhythm to the tapping, one that he could _only just_ pick out due to his extensive education in, humiliatingly enough, old Earth movies. It was Morse code. “ _I will help Bessie, I promise,_ ” Jason kept tapping over and over again.

Percy didn’t know if this was worth it, but if his informant was correct, he had very little time. He was running out of options and here he was, seated in front of one of the most powerful men on the planet, offering him help. He knew that it likely wasn’t the best idea, and that it probably wasn’t going to be free, but he felt like he didn’t have a choice.

“But,” said Percy, with a heavy sigh. He looked at Jason and shook his head. He _really_ hoped he wouldn’t regret this. “I _imagine_ that it could happen,” he said.

The smile on Jason’s face was dazzling, Percy had to admit. His stomach did a little somersault at the sight. The CEO of Pantheon Industries was not known for smiling too much. Percy wondered if that had something to do with having a prick like Octavian nearby all the time.

Whatever the case was, Percy couldn’t help but wish that he could see that smile more. There was just something so open about it that he wanted more. “Good,” said Jason, still grinning. “That will be all, Percy. If you don’t mind, I would like some coffee.”

“O-Of course, sir,” said Percy, averting his gaze so that Jason wouldn’t see the blush that had stained his cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Here it is. As promised, my space-epic Nova Olympia. Jercy-centric fanfic, but with hints of Solangelo here and there. I hope you like it. I hope you enjoy it. It was certainly a blast writing this, and, as you might be able to tell by what she's going to comment as this fic goes on, CarpeDM has a _lot_ to say about this fic. I know. She beta'd it for me, and I saw the _best_ reactions to a fic I've seen in a while. *winks at Carpe*
> 
> Anyway, this will be great. I swear to you. If you like daddy kink and dub-con and sci-fi and Jercy, you're going to want to read this fic. Updates will be every wednesday going forward. I have a backlog of 20 chapters, so it will be 20 weeks before I start running out of shit, but even then, I highly doubt that I will. :P.
> 
> Leave a comment if you want to tell me what you think of this new series so far! I will definitely love it. :D.


	2. Break Room Shenanigans

Percy had just about finished punching in the code for coffee, just as Jason liked it, that Octavian had so _helpfully_ written down on the clipboard, when he heard a deep voice from behind him. “You know, Percy, I’m rather surprised and a little touched that you know just how I like my coffee.”

Percy nearly dropped the cup that he had been holding under the dispenser of the beverage replicator. “By the gods,” Percy gasped. Standing at the dispenser, he had been facing the door to the break room, but he had not seen Jason enter.

As he turned around, half-expecting a holographic projection of his boss, Percy was surprised to find Jason—in the flesh. “Sir,” he said, meekly, as he set down the cup of coffee on a nearby counter, “Please don’t startle me like that. I almost scalded myself.”

“Oh,” said Jason, a corner of his lips turning up in a little self-satisfied smirk—despite the fact that he _did_ sound genuinely apologetic. Percy couldn’t quite comprehend how Jason managed it. “I’m sorry, Percy,” Jason drawled slowly. Percy didn’t know why, but he found the way that Jason said those words _really_ sexy.

Percy took a step back when Jason walked toward him, but he found his way blocked by the replicator behind him. His eyes flitted to the security cameras installed in the room, but the lights flickered off, and the camera heads swung to point down at the ground.

Of course Jason had a neural interface with the security systems of this wing of the company headquarters. Percy felt rather stupid for thinking otherwise. Dr. Jason Grace lived _almost_ entirely in the executive wing of Pantheon Industries.

Before Percy could move away, Jason’s hand darted out to grab his arm in a vicious grip. “No one will hear anything of what we talked about in my office except for Nicola di Angelo,” said Jason. Percy felt his heart skip a beat at the mention of Nico’s name. “Do you understand?”

Percy gulped audibly and looked into Jason’s intense blue eyes. He was beginning to see his boss in a new light. Jason was often spoken of in hushed tones as being serious, cold, and calculating, but rarely dangerous. Percy was beginning to think that those rumours were exactly what Jason wanted going around.

“H-how do you know about Nico, sir?” Percy stammered. His eyes brushed over Jason’s white-knuckled grip around his forearm. “N-no one is supposed to know about Nico.”

Jason released Percy’s arm and stood back, a confident smirk on his face. “What?” said Jason, “Did you think you were the only one with an inside link to the Hellenes?”

Frankly, that was _exactly_ what Percy had thought. The security systems in the Hellene headquarters were far and away superior from most other systems save for those implemented among the member companies of the New Rome Group.

“ _Hades_ himself has been working closely with the New Rome Group to undermine the Hellene Group.” Jason took another step forward, this time close enough to press his body against Percy’s, pinning the younger man against the replicator.

Percy felt a flush come to his face. He even felt a warmth stir in his loins. He had to admit that he had always admired Jason Grace from afar, but had never had the audacity to dream he would be _this_ close to one of the most powerful and most walled-off people on the planet.

Gods knew that Percy hadn’t been this close to an attractive man in a _very_ long time. He and Nico had had a brief stint together, but that hadn’t lasted very long. They had both come to the conclusion that they wanted very different things from a partner.

As serious as the situation he had found himself in was, Percy couldn’t help but feel a surge of arousal from the way that Jason leaned in toward him, breath hot and heavy against his ear.

“This goes beyond just Project SIBYL, Percy,” said Jason. “This is bigger than you and Bessie. This shouldn’t even concern you and Bessie, but what you’ve told me today is troubling. _Very_ troubling.”

Jason’s golden hair, streaked here and there with silver despite the availability and affordability of rejuvenation treatment, brushed against Percy’s cheek and elicited a soft groan from his lips. “Good,” said Jason, cooing in his Personal Assistant’s ear. “Keep that up. Make this look like _exactly_ what I want it to look like.”

Percy’s eyes shot open at the strange comment, and sure enough, he could see that the security cameras were once again trained on him and Jason. “F-fuck, Percy!” Jason groaned, surprising Percy with the way that his voice quivered with want, need, and arousal.

Jason’s teeth grazed the soft and tender flesh of Percy’s earlobe, eliciting another moan from him—despite his best efforts to stop it. Instinctively, Percy leaned his head back, exposing his neck to his boss. “You make me so… _hard,_ ” Jason drawled.

If Percy _hadn’t_ been hard earlier, he _definitely_ was now. The soft fabric of his standard-issue jumpsuit, which made it feel like a second skin, almost, did little to help his growing arousal. If anything, it only made it worse. The friction was just enough to stimulate him, but wasn’t anywhere near what he needed to feel fulfilled.

Jason gently guided Percy’s hand downward, the younger man groaning as Jason pushed his crotch into the open palm. The outline of a thick and heavy manhood was pressing against the comparatively coarse fabric of Jason’s more traditional slacks. “Yeah, that’s it,” Jason growled, as Percy, despite his better judgment, began to explore the member with his fingers.

The door swung open just as Percy started rubbing Jason’s cock through the pants. He didn’t know why he did it, but it felt _right._ Whatever the case, Jason groaned, the sound guttural and wanton, just as a petite woman entered the break room. “O-oh!” said the woman, evidently flustered.

Jason pulled away gracefully from Percy, somehow looking as put-together as he had been earlier—despite the obvious bulge in his pants. Percy, on the other hand, was practically scrambling over the replicator to hide, his eyes wide with shock at what he had just been caught doing.

“I-I’m so sorry, sir,” said the woman. “I-I wasn’t aware that you were in the middle of something.” Despite Percy’s utter embarrassment at being found out, he felt genuinely bad for the woman that had just walked in on his boss doing what HR would probably categorize as sexual harassment. Only, Percy couldn’t quite decide if he had actually wanted it or not.

“That’s alright, Mrs. Zhang,” said Jason with a genial smile. He straightened his tie around his neck and brushed back a few stray strands of hair. “Now, it is rare that I see you at Pantheon Industries. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“O-oh,” said Emily, eyes flitting between Jason and Percy and then back. “I’ve been given leave from the NRSS Scipio, and was on my way to visit Frank. Admiral Ramirez wanted me to deliver a message that she is looking for you.” The cameras in the room powered down. “Outside the usual channels.”

Jason nodded and handed a slip of paper to Mrs. Zhang. Percy watched the exchange nervously, not sure whether his presence would be perceived as a threat by one of the most esteemed crew members of the Scipio. The cameras powered back on. “Please inform her that I will be with her in two hours,” said Jason. “And if you don’t mind, Mrs. Zhang, do tell the hangar that I would like my ship prepared post-haste. Our young friend and I might want to take our fooling around somewhere more private.”

Emily nodded at Jason. She looked at Percy and smiled at his flustered face knowingly. “Of course, sir,” she said, before turning around to attend to whatever it was that Jason had sent her off to do.

Percy looked at his employer, eyes wide in bewilderment at what had just happened. Given the apparently-confidential nature of what Admiral Ramirez wanted with Jason, he had no idea why he wasn’t asked to leave the room.

Percy didn’t have the time to think about the matter too much. Jason stepped up to him, pressing their bodies together once again. “Now,” said Jason, moving back in to nuzzle Percy’s neck. “Where were we again, my Personal Assistant? Isn’t it your job to help me remember these things?”

Percy squeezed his eyes shut. He threw his head back and groaned as Jason pressed kisses to his neck. When he looked back at Jason, the older man was looking at him with a knowing smirk. “Ah yes, thank you,” said Jason, “This.”

Jason’s hand found Percy’s wrist again and brought it lower. Though, this time, as Percy palmed his boss’ cock in his hands, he felt Jason doing the same for him. This was wrong. So very wrong. He was pretty sure he and Jason were violating _quite_ a few company policies about fraternizing between employees and superiors.

Then again, Percy supposed that if there was anyone to best be breaking company policy with, it was the man that was in charge of drafting and putting them up for the vote in the first place.

Percy _moaned_ as he felt Jason’s teeth graze the tender skin of his neck. He did again when he felt Jason squeeze his manhood through the fabric of his jumpsuit—when Jason started stroking him.

Percy’s knees grew so weak that he buckled when Jason gently bit down on his neck. Thankfully, Jason was right there to catch him. Jason caught him in firm arms, somehow managing to look as composed as ever in stark contrast to his own flustered and ravished state. “Would you like to take this elsewhere, Percy?” said Jason, with a smirk.

Percy _tried_ to formulate a response, but his mind was a whirling maelstrom of thoughts, fears, and emotions. He wanted this, but at the same time, he didn’t. He wasn’t sure what side to listen to, but having Jason _so_ near was making it difficult to practice _any_ sort of restraint. It certainly didn’t help that it was starting to seem like Jason was tickling him, a single finger swirling around the sensitive skin of his shoulder blade.

Percy looked into Jason’s eyes and saw a look of urgency in the stark blue. He furrowed his brows before the realization hit him. The finger that he _thought_ had been stroking his shoulder blade earlier was _actually_ tracing letters into his back. _Say yes._

Percy looked at Jason, entirely uncertain. The tracing became more frantic. With seemingly no other options in sight, Percy relented. “Y-yes, sir,” he stammered, though he wasn’t able to stop himself from looking at Jason with wide, fearful eyes.

Jason’s demeanour changed dramatically once again. From urgent and almost pleading, he became confident and almost borderline arrogant. Jason stepped away from Percy, straightened his coat, and ruffled Percy’s hair affectionately—like Percy was a pet. “Good boy,” said Jason.

For reasons that Percy himself didn’t quite understand, he flushed at the gesture. His cock throbbed in his pants. “I’m sure you will like it at my home,” said Jason.

Percy’s world came to a grinding halt. Jason was taking him home? The opportunity was unprecedented. The CEO and _de facto_ president of the New Rome Group of Companies was notorious for inviting _very_ few people to his grand manse. The biggest parties held in his honour were never thrown on the grounds of his private property, they were always at the company headquarters instead.

Only Jason Grace’s closest friends had seen the interior of his grand house. Only they, and, if the tabloids were to be believed, occasional fucks, were ever invited there.

Percy was pretty sure that he wasn’t one of Jason’s closest friends, so he supposed he was about to become one of the ‘occasional fucks.’ Regardless, he felt rather calm about the whole thing. He was more nervous about not performing to Jason’s expectations, really, as it looked like there was far more to this than just mutual attraction. At least, he hoped it was mutual.

Percy didn’t get much more time to mull over his circumstances. Jason coughed, and when Percy looked up, he saw his boss holding the door to the break room open—presumably for him. “After you, Percy,” said Jason, sounding somehow both gentlemanly and lecherous at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter! Ho!
> 
> So. What do you think of this chapter? My exams are finally done and I am freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! ;3. What did you think of Jason's tact, and, not to mention, his domineering attitude toward Percy? :3. When do you think Percy's going to let the "d" word slip? *giggles*
> 
> ANYWAY. If you like the story so far, leave a kudos! Give me a comment if you want to make my day. I would love to read them to relax after my exams yesterday. :3.


	3. Peril

Percy was more than a little bit ashamed to admit that he hadn’t _really_ explored the headquarters of Pantheon Industries beyond his dormitory, the adjacent floors, and the office space he had to himself for his work, over the last few months, as an unpaid intern.

Truth be told, Percy had always _wanted_ to walk around and see what the scientists of Pantheon Industries were working on. He had been, however, quite afraid of any potential security roadblocks that needed biometric scans for authorization. Although, Percy thought, in retrospect, it had all been for naught. As he had come to learn, Jason had known of his identity all along, after all.

“Like what you see?” said Jason, startling Percy from his thoughts when they stopped momentarily in front of what seemed to be a large window into a hangar.

Within, there was a massive mechasuit that was about twice as tall as Percy, and three times as wide. It was heavily armoured, and from the tubes that Percy could see being covered by panels, climate-controlled, as well.

“This is the final prototype for Project OTHRYS,” said Jason, leaning his back against the window. Percy glanced at his boss, who seemed to be downright amused by his amazement. “Officially, the suit is supposed to protect surface-miners from the elements more efficiently, but it’s also meant to make surface-exploration more tolerable for the brave souls that want to give it a go.”

Percy was more than a little surprised by the idea that actual human beings still went out onto the surface _willingly._ Jason looked even more amused now than he had been before. “There are many things that only humans can do that robots can’t. Yet.”

“Come on,” said Jason, jerking his head in the direction that he and Percy had been walking, earlier. Percy felt a flutter in his stomach. Jason’s hair whipped around with the gesture, golden strands on the surface parting to reveal silver underneath. Percy felt his cheeks warm. “OTHRYS is not the only interesting project we’ll walk by.”

Jason stopped Percy in front of what looked, at first glance, like a red viewing panel of some sort. “In there is project OMPHALOS,” said Jason, “One of the handful of planetary government-funded initiatives here at Pantheon Industries. I’m not quite so sure why the room is lit red at the moment, though.”

Percy had heard of OMPHALOS. He wasn’t too much of a geologist, but he knew what the project was about. OMPHALOS was basically an exploratory research mission for the lower crust and the upper mantle of the planet. “How much longer can we run on geothermal plants?” he said, glancing over at Jason.

“Long enough to get the HELIOS MkIII up and running in Nova Olympia,” said Jason, a pensive look on his face. Percy was somewhat concerned. The MkIII was the most sophisticated fusion reactor of its kind, after all, and still Jason didn’t look too confident in its capabilities.

“We were lucky we arrived when C-Vita Lyrae was still geologically active,” Jason said with a heavy sigh. He braced his right arm against the window and rested his forehead there. “HELIOS will tide us over for as long as we have hydrogen on the surface, but even that won’t be enough to sustain us. Not forever.”

Percy looked back into the control room, having spent the last few moments studying his employer’s face. It was eerily motionless inside the control room, the red light almost sinister against the blinking of the unattended consoles. He wondered if all OMPHALOS would uncover was more evidence that the Oracle Drive _needed_ to be finished.

Percy was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he didn’t realize Jason had moved on. He jumped, startled, when he realized that Jason was some ways away from him by now. He nearly tripped over his own feet trying to catch up.

There weren’t many more interesting projects on the way to the hangar. Most of them were rather miscellaneous, focused on increasing the current quality of life in Nova Olympia rather than paving the way for a sustainable future for the planet.

Jason and Percy walked through a door, the pneumatics hissing as the two parts slid apart, into another hallway. This one was bare, though there were windows to either side. It was a walkway across a massive chasm that was _still_ largely unexplored despite Pantheon Industries being built around and over it.

Halfway across the gap, Jason turned to Percy. “Have you heard of the PONTUS initiative?” he said. Percy frowned. He was pretty sure he’d heard the name before, but he didn’t quite remember where or in relation to what. “I thought you of all people would be in on the secret, being a prominent—if unpublished—Marine Chimerobiologist.”

Percy shook his head. He had been out of touch with his academic pursuits for quite a while now. All of his energy had been devoted to getting his situation together so that he could help Bessie move out of the Hellene headquarters.

“PONTUS is an independent project that both the New Rome group and the Hellenes have contributed to. PONTUS hopes to create a large reservoir of liquid water outside of the cities—accessible to all planetary citizens.”

Percy’s jaw dropped. _Now_ he knew where he had heard PONTUS from. Nico. Nico hadn’t had many good things to say about the project, and though Percy hated to, he had to admit that Nico had a point. It was simply a logistical nightmare.

“I don’t think it can be done,” said Percy. He stopped for a moment before resuming the brisk pace that Jason had set. “How would they even get significant volumes of water in one place underground?” he said. “And even if they were able to, who’s to stop either group of companies from taking advantage and exploiting the shared resource?”

A brief moment of awkward silence passed, during which Percy’s ears continued to grow hotter and hotter until he felt like they were about to catch fire. “I-I’m sorry, sir,” he stammered, averting his gaze from Jason. “I d-didn’t mean any offense.”

Jason laughed, the sound hearty in the empty walkway. “Of course,” he said. “But you’re right. I don’t think it can be done, either. Doesn’t mean they’re not going to try. Although, PONTUS has lost a lot of Hellene support ever since Poseidon was elected as the project head.”

Percy bristled at the name. Not only had Poseidon left his mother, but he had also cursed Percy with Hellenic blood—a fact that he was certain he would never get to live down.

It was bad enough trying to break into a field that had no _real_ traction in C-Vita Lyrae. Percy did _not_ need the added stigma of being a Hellene working against him. Luckily, he’d managed to deal with it thus far.

Jason and Percy stopped in front of the pneumatic doors to the hangar. Percy looked up at his boss, and saw that Jason was smiling at him with genuine affection. His stomach did a somersault at the sight of the crinkling at the corners of Jason’s eyes, and the way that Jason’s hand raked through his hair.

“You might well want to get back in touch with your father,” said Jason, voice surprisingly tender. “I have the sneaking suspicion that Poseidon is working with similar goals to yours in mind. He is a marine biologist by trade, as well. No doubt he has followed your progress all these years, too.”

Percy sighed. Jason had a point, but he wasn’t quite sure whether speaking with his father would be a good idea. There were many choice words that he wanted to say, and _very_ few of them were nice.

Before Percy could respond, he heard the final few beeping noises of the keypad by the door. He looked at Jason just in time to see Jason press his palm against the console. A soothing male voice rang out in the hallway. “Biometrics scan completed. Welcome, Jason, son of Zeus. Be safe.”

Percy gawked at his boss, shocked to hear the epithet that the system had just used. “Yes, Percy,” said Jason, with another affectionate smile. Jason’s hand on his back was warm and comforting. “I know what you have been through. I know the fear. But, I also know that things can get _much_ better.”

The twin doors hissed and slid apart to reveal the massive hangar that housed not only the capital ship of Pantheon Industries, but Jason’s smaller but still-respectably-sized personal ship.

There was an engineer on the other side that saluted at Jason as he passed by. “Good evening, Sir,” said the engineer with a genial smile. He passed a holo-tablet to Jason and nodded at Percy. “I’m pleased to note that Tempest is in tip-top shape, although we’ve fitted him with the latest stable ion thrusters from the propulsion labs.”

“Thank you, Jake,” said Jason, clapping the man on the shoulder. “And if you don’t mind me saying, perhaps you should take the rest of the day off if you aren’t doing anything of vital importance. You look like you need it.”

The engineer laughed. “Sir, I appreciate the concern, and maybe I will. It will be remiss of me to not see you off, though. Not with the disturbing reports from Sector 7.”

“I know, Jake,” said Jason. Percy couldn’t help but feel somewhat warm inside, knowing that his boss was one of the more compassionate company heads. He’d met Zeus, once, and the memory still sent shivers down his spine.

“Security has already informed me that the primary assailant is in custody. They aren’t sure if there is anyone else involved, though.” Jake frowned. “The Admiral’s presence has confirmed the instigator for the attack, however.”

Jake’s face hardened. “Jason,” he said, surprising Percy by the way that he addressed the CEO by name. Percy looked around, and sure enough, security cameras were all deactivated. “This has _got_ to stop.”

Percy jumped when he felt fingers gripping his arm tightly. He looked down, expecting Jason’s hand on him, but it was the engineer’s. The bright yellow hem of the engineer’s jumpsuit was flush against the engineer’s wrist. “Percy,” said Jake, a steely look in his eyes. “Be safe.”

Percy was shocked to find out that the engineer had known his name. He was, rather truthfully, beginning to think that he was more than a little out of his depth. “H-how do you know my name?”

Jake and Jason shared a knowing look. There was a small amused smile playing on both their lips. “Everyone who’s in Jason’s little circle knows who you are by now, Percy Jackson,” said Jake. “Jason caught us up to speed while you were on your way here.”

“I don’t approve of him involving you, no matter how much he thinks you’ll be useful for SIBYL,” said Jake. He was glaring at Jason, and the president, to his credit, was looking somewhat bashful. “You’re too young for this bullshit,” said Jake.

Percy was about to say something, as they came to a halt in front of the entry-ramp to the frigate, but he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head, and in the fraction of a second that he managed to get to look at the source of the movement, he was _heavily_ thrown off.

Holding what seemed to be an old-fashioned pistol in his hands was a man. Percy didn’t get a chance to look at the man’s face for too long, but he _did_ notice that the stranger was wearing what seemed to be a standard-issue jumpsuit, except the colours and designs were all wrong.

Where most civilian jumpsuits were coloured a pleasant mix of silver-and-blue, the stranger’s was charcoal and red. Even then, Percy couldn’t quite tell. The light seemed to refuse to cling to the outfit properly.

There was another cause for concern. Silver wires seemed to wind out of the sleeves of the jumpsuit, wrapping around the man’s fingers and the pistol that he held levelled at Percy and Jason.

“Jason!” Percy managed to shout before he took a step in front of his boss. The sound of two gunshots rang out in the otherwise-quiet hangar, followed by Jason’s grunt as Percy pushed him out of the way onto the ramp.

Percy gasped in pain as the first bullet buried itself an inch away from his armpit—which would have hit Jason square in the chest if he hadn’t moved in the way. He hadn’t quite experienced pain of this sort before. His knees buckled and he fell, just in time for the second bullet to sail over his shoulder.

Jason grabbed Percy and hurled him higher up the ramp to the starship. Percy grunted as his back hit the hard alloy surface of the ramp. He watched as Jason pulled out a pistol from gods know where, levelling it at the unknown assailant.

Percy could tell that Jake was still jarred by the events. The engineer was fumbling with a battery pack for his plasma pistol. Percy was pretty sure that by the time Jake was ready, the standoff would be over and done with.

Percy turned his attention to Jason, surprised to find the genuine anguish that was on the older man’s face. There was a hesitation to the way that he held his gun. Percy was sure that Jason recognized the assailant. “I hate to do this,” said Jason, a slight tremor in his voice.

The pain in Percy’s arm throbbed. He groaned and threw his head back. By the time he looked back, two shots had already been fired, and the stranger was on his back, bleeding out into the hangar floor.

“Take Castellan to Medical, and then make sure to get him in custody” said Jason. He dropped his pistol to the floor. He grabbed the one in Jake’s hands and slammed the battery pack home. “I want to talk to him when he’s in better shape. And make sure to strip him of that inferior copy of IRIS. Whatever happens, no word of this leaves the company, understood?”

Jason angrily stalked up the ramp. Percy expected a few harsh words from his boss, but instead, surprisingly-gentle arms picked him up. “It’s alright, Percy,” said Jason with a tender smile. “Thank you for saving me. But now, it’s time for you to rest. I’ll take care of you.”

Percy shivered at the words. Heat rushed up his neck to his cheeks when he felt Jason’s lips press against his left temple. He wrapped his arms around Jason’s shoulders. The last thing he saw before he passed out was the ramp rising up to seal the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we find out that Jason is in charge of a great many things—a number of which apparently are important enough to warrant attempted assassinations. :3. Of course, Percy being ever the endearing noble idiot, took a bullet for him. :3.
> 
> What did you think of this chapter? Poke me with a comment, I would love to read what you have to say. :D.


	4. Tempest

There was a loud hiss as the hydraulic lock on the ramp and the airtight seal engaged. There were a few moments of darkness and silence broken only by the sound of Percy’s laboured breathing that followed. Jason looked down at the young man he carried in his arms, barely older than a boy, and felt a burning anger in the pit of his stomach.

A soft ding played over the speakers as a green strip illuminated the floor in front of Jason. He suspected Tempest was just booting up, but he didn’t really have the time for that. The strip of green light stretched forward to the airlock, illuminating the circular frame of the hydraulic doors.

“Tempest,” said Jason, inquisitively, as he walked toward the airlock. “Lights on, please.”

A soft male voice filtered in through the speakers. “Of course, sir. If you would forgive the delay. I am currently integrating the new ion thruster systems to mine.”

“That is alright, Tempest,” said Jason. He tried not to sound too impatient, but it was difficult. There was an innocent bleeding in his arms. “Prioritize restoring power and function to cameras and Med Bay, Tempest. We have an injured passenger onboard.”

Jason heard the artificial whir of engines coming to life, as well as the deep sound of light switches being flipped. Jason had made sure to have those sound effects included in Tempest’s subroutines. Frankly, he found it unsettling when the lights turned on without so much as a peep.

A vibration rattled through the hull of the ship, as though it were a car starting up. Again, the effect was a fabricated one. Jason had grown up in a different time–had had the pleasure of growing up on Earth before ARK-III departed for Vita Lyrae. The new technology, and the utter silence that accompanied the wakening of a starship, was unsettling.

The airlock doors slid open with a hiss. Jason slipped between them, looking down just in time to see the splattered blood trail he and Percy had left behind them. A small spherical drone, levitated by advanced anti-gravity technology from project ICARUS, flitted into Jason’s field of view.

Jason heard the cameras in the ship clicking to life and felt them connecting to his neural interface. The drone projected a holographic screen in front of Jason’s face. A young man, made purely of digital code, appeared on it. “Sir,” said Tempest, “I was unaware there was a scuffle in the Hangar. I apologize. I would have turned on my weapons systems in response to the threat if had I known.”

Jason allowed himself a brief chuckle. He shook his head. “I took care of it, Tempest, but our young friend here put his life on the line to help.”

“Understood, sir,” said Tempest. The green strip on the floor dinged, turning first yellow, and then red. “Med bay should be operational, sir, but the rest of the ship will take some time to check for possible systems failures.”

“Make sure to check for stowaways, Tempest,” said Jason, when the secondary doors of the airlock opened to let him into the rest of the ship. The corridors were still dark, illuminated only by the soft light of the red strip that ducked into the left-hand hallway past the airlock.

“Of course, sir,” said Tempest. “I appreciate the reminder.” The ship A.I. paused for a moment, the drone projecting his avatar following Jason as Jason walked past. “It’s not like checking for intruders was the first thing I thought of doing when I learned of what had happened in the hangar,” Tempest added, dryly.

Jason chuckled, just as a more robotic voice chimed ‘ _sarcasm subroutines online._ ’ “Welcome back, Tempest,” said Jason. “I was wondering when you would show up.”

“Maybe I should leave you in the dark the next time you carry a bleeding twink onto the ship, sir,” said Tempest, the laugh that followed was somewhat metallic. “The Bridge is now secure and ready for you, sir. I’ll take care of the boy.”

A hovering stretcher came down the hallway, its underside lit the same shade of red as the strip on the floor. In fact, the stretcher travelled along the strip, as though on an invisible rail.

“Thank you for the offer, Tempest, but I would feel much more at ease if I took care of the boy that saved my life.” Jason walked over to the stretcher and gently lay Percy on it. His arms were sore, but he felt honour-bound to persevere and help Percy.

Jason gripped the handrail on the stretcher and pushed it along, allowing the stretcher’s resistance against moving outside of the path defined by the red strip to guide him to Med Bay. He felt a twinge of shame at not actually knowing where Med Bay was on his own ship, but then again, he never had the time to properly explore Tempest.

“But sir,” said Tempest, a twinge of frustration in his digital voice. “There are other matters that you need to concern yourself with. I am fully capable of taking care of a .35 caliber gunshot wound in a nonfatal part of the body.”

“I don’t need insubordination right now, Tempest,” said Jason wearily. The med bay doors hissed open in front of him as he stepped inside. He slid the stretcher over to the nearest vacant bed—though all the beds were empty—and transferred Percy over with a grunt.

“But si—”

“I don’t want to hear it, Tempest,” said Jason. “I forbid you from relaying any information to me that is not directly related to the care for and treatment of a gunshot wound until I say otherwise.” The young man in the holographic projection narrowed his eyes at Jason.

“Very well, sir,” said Tempest. “Obviously, the first step would be to remove the bullet.”

“Cut the attitude, Tempest,” said Jason. The holographic projection threw up its hands and shook its head. Jason was aware Tempest wouldn’t be so upset if there weren’t other urgent matters that needed seeing to, but at the moment, he didn’t care.

An innocent had just been involved in the conflict between Jason and his father. That made him _furious_ and _sad_ at the same time. He was going to see to it that Percy was alright before he attended to _anything_ else.

Jason pinched the fabric of Percy’s jumpsuit and pulled. He had helped patent the technology of the improved jumpsuits, which could be torn without losing any significant integrity even on the atomic level thanks to nanotechnology. He removed the entire upper half of Percy’s jumpsuit, and though he appreciated the sight of the young man’s lean but well-defined upper body, the bullet wound was disconcerting.

“Scan his body to find out how deep the bullet went,” said Jason. “I’ll prepare strips for binding his shoulder when we’re done here.”

A ring a few inches wider in diameter than the bed was detached from the wall that the bed was fastened to. It spun slowly as it went, travelling down the length of the bed. Jason watched, apprehensive, as he tore the top half of Percy’s jumpsuit into one and two-inch-wide strips.

“Sir,” said Tempest. The hologram had been looking at Percy on the bed, but it now turned its attention to Jason. “Sir we have bandages literally a foot above the bed in the wall storage.”

Jason raised an eyebrow at the A.I. “And in case we ran out of bandages? I think it’s better I that I know how to improvise.”

“But sir—” Tempest sighed. “—You know what, sir? Nevermind.” The hologram turned its attention back to the scan that was currently taking place. “Should I isolate the scan to his torso, sir?” said Tempest. The ring slowed its forward motion as it reached Percy’s waist.

Jason pondered the question for a moment. He was pretty sure that the damage was localized to Percy’s shoulder, and the torso scan alone was already overkill. Nevertheless, he decided that he couldn’t be too careful. “No. Perform a full-body scan. Perform an in-depth analysis but I want anything about the bullet as soon as possible.”

“Of course, sir,” said Tempest. There was a momentary pause as the hologram of Tempest vanished. It reappeared, although this time Tempest was holding a clipboard in his hands. “I have some good news and bad news, sir,” said Tempest. “The good news is that the bullet is whole. Its shell is magnetic, but I can’t ascertain what it’s made for. The bad news is that it’s pretty deep and probably can’t be pulled out with forceps.”

Jason blinked and looked at the forceps that he already had in his fingers. “ _Probably_ can’t be pulled out with forceps. _Might_ be possible. _NOT_ recommended,” Tempest said, dryly, looking up at Jason.

Jason rolled his eyes and reached for the other surgical implement for removing foreign bodies, a soft tube with a camera and a claw at the end. “I trust you know how to retrieve the bullet without doing too much damage, sir?” said Tempest.

“How many bullet wounds do you think I’ve had to treat, Tempest?” said Jason, dryly. “In a world where old lead-and-gunpowder guns are considered more of a hobby than an actual threat, how many bullet wounds do you think I’ve even _seen?_ ”

“I don’t know, sir,” said Tempest. “I am not privy to many of the things you do outside my hull.” Tempest’s eyes flicked over to where Percy was in the bed. “And I don’t think I want to be. However, in case you needed advice about pulling bullets out of people, try not to puncture lungs, hearts, or any important organs while you’re doing it.”

Jason blinked for a moment, unsure what to say. “Thank you, Tempest,” he said, flatly. “You are a great help. I wonder what ever I would do if I didn’t have you around.”

“Glad to be of service, sir,” said Tempest. “And if you don’t mind me answering your clearly sarcastic rhetorical question, you would fly whatever poor ship gets stuck with you into a mountain.”

“I will call on you if I needed any further help, Tempest,” said Jason. There was a thread of exasperation in his voice, but he liked the more personable side of Tempest. He wasn’t sure he could deal with the cold, calculating side of most other A.I.

“As you wish, sir,” said Tempest. The hologram blinked out of existence and the spherical drone shot itself into one of hemispherical alcoves in the wall just above the individual supply cabinets over the beds.

Jason lowered the tip of the magnetic probe into the bullet wound. He took one hand and brushed a lock of silver-and-gold hair behind his ear. Gingerly, he searched for the bullet, entire body tense until the magnetic tip of the probe made contact with the bullet.

Jason engaged the grasping claws, which found a good grip on the surprisingly-intact bullet casing. Slowly, he pulled the offending ammunition out. Everything went smoothly until about halfway through, a sudden cough beside him made him jolt. Percy groaned in pain, eyes fluttering slightly open.

“Anaesthesise him, Tempest. Knock him out for four hours, I think,” said Jason. The spherical probe whirred and clicked. This probe was not the same as the one from the airlock. This was very clearly one designed for Med Bay use, plainted purely white save for a red cross on its upper pole.

The probe extended a needle and a laser, searching for Percy’s jugular vein. It was quickly located and the probe administered a dose calculated from Percy’s body scan that would keep him unconscious for about four hours. When the deed was done, the probe returned to hovering by Jason’s side and projected a rather grim-faced Tempest to Jason.

“I’m afraid I have more bad news, sir,” said Tempest. “It’s probably the most idiotic assassination plot in the universe to an A.I. and fans of the movie _Transcendence_ but the bullet was coated with microscopic pieces of highly-radioactive, anomalously-stable Unbiunium isotopes.”

Jason was struggling to process the information. Even when Tempest tried to stop him, he swatted the drone away and pulled the bullet completely free of Percy. “They still haven’t named that fucking element?” he said. “Give me a break. Now they’re just stalling.”

“Sir,” said Tempest, voice low. “This is a serious matter.”

“Let me have this moment, Tempest,” said Jason. He massaged his temples. “Okay. What the fuck did you just tell me, and what does it mean?”

“It means, sir, that young Perseus Jackson might well suffer from the effects of radiation poisoning soon.” Tempest paused. “I currently posses no useful information in treating internal radiation poisoning, but I haven’t updated my data banks since Cycle 10,” said the A.I.

“You haven’t updated your data banks in thirty years, Tempest?” said Jason, incredulously.

“My generalist database has been updated regularly, sir,” said Tempest, “But I was built to be a light transport and scout ship and not a medical facility. My medical data banks are meant only to get seriously injured individuals stable—not cured.”

“Fine,” said Jason. He looked at Percy, a cold knot in the pit of his stomach. “Get me Will Solace, Tempest.”

“On it, sir,” said Tempest. Tempest’s Holographic avatar reached down and picked up a telephone receiver.

Jason blinked. “Seriously?”

“Sir, you programmed my personality. You don’t get to complain.” Before Jason could respond, Tempest held up a finger to silence him. “Sir, three attempts each to Will Solace’s residence, medical ship, and private clinic have gone without response.”

“Patch me through to the bridge of the Scipio.” Jason pinched the bridge of his nose.

“About damn time,” Tempest muttered under his breath. The hologram expanded, gaining definition and proper colour as it became a window into the bridge of the Scipio. A very angry Reyna was standing in front of her captain’s console.

“Fucking hell Grace,” said Reyna. “I have been trying to reach you for the last half-hour.” Jason opened his mouth to try and say something. “Before you say anything more, about your twink, Grace, there’s something you might want to see. Tempest, please.”

Jason heard the momentary hiss of static before a second drone created a screen beside the one showing Reyna. He frowned and looked at what seemed to be a news broadcast. “ _In today’s devastating terrorist attack on Capitoline Hill that left half of Parliament Building a smouldering pile of rubble and reportedly dozens dead, the executive branch of planetary government is confirmed deceased in its entirety._ ”

“ _All eyes now turn to the presently most powerful man on the planet, whose real name is a closely-guarded secret except among his business associates. Government alias: Zeus is set to deliver an address to the C-Vita Lyrae in two hours as he takes temporary control of planetary government, due to what experts are calling the contractor government treaty._ ”

“ _If you might recall, last half-cycle, then-incumbent prime minister, government alias: Cronus, expressed happiness at what he called an unprecedented deal between the Hellene Group of Companies and C-Vita Lyrae planetary government. At the time, the prime minister said that dealings were strictly confidential and that details of the deal would be released over the next half-cycle. Until now, there is no official text of the treaty._ ”

“ _No Members of Parliament are presently in good enough condition to offer dissent against the instatement of Zeus as temporary prime minister. Zeus has agreed to hold a session once the injured MP’s have recovered to decide who is to be the leader of planetary government, but for the time being, Zeus will act as the_ de facto _prime minister as per the terms of the treaty._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know about you guys, but I definitely enjoyed writing and reading the master of sass that is Tempest. ;3. I'd like to know what you guys think of this chapter, so please, do leave a comment!
> 
> What do you think of Jason being so protective of Percy? And what do you think of Tempest's sarcasm? :D. Carpe loved it. Did you?


	5. Scipio

“Yeah, Grace,” said Reyna. “You see that?” The decorated Admiral poked her finger through the side of the screen she was currently being projected on. “They’re saying that’s the work of the TITAN separatist cell, but you and I both know that whether or not TITAN had anything to do with the attack, Zeus is the mastermind.”

Jason was more than a little bit shell-shocked. A holographic man, regal in his bearing, made of glittering purple-and gold motes, leaned toward Reyna. “Admiral,” Scipio said, “I believe that Mr. Grace is presently in shock. Too dumb to speak, as he likes to call it. Might I suggest dealing with him in less harsh tones?”

“I don’t recall asking you for your help, Scipio,” said Reyna. Her second-in-command, Mike Kahale snickered behind her. Reyna shot a withering glare over her shoulder at the man that was stood behind the helm of Scipio. It silenced him rather quickly. “What I do recall is that I asked you to check on the security of the bunker.”

“With all due respect, Admiral,” said Scipio, folding his arms behind his back. “The A.I. core aboard me is the most advanced of its kind—thanks, in no small part, to Mr. Grace’s generous contributions. I am somewhat offended that you seem to think me incapable of multi-tasking.”

“I need not remind you, as well, Admiral, that you told me—” Scipio paused, the drone responsible for his holographic form whirring and clicking. After a few moments, he started speaking again, although this time in an eerily similar voice to Reyna’s. “—Gods help me I will kill him. Scipio, you’re in charge of reminding me not to strangle him.”

“Remind me why I let you program the personality for Scipio, Grace?” Reyna hissed. Jason, who had mostly gotten over his shock, was smirking.

“I have no idea how to do _any_ of this, Jason,” said Scipio, voice still eerily like Reyna’s but not quite. It was treading well into the territory of the uncanny valley, and while Jason might have found it eerie some time ago, it was perfectly natural to him now. “Why don’t _you_ do it and save me the effort?”

“Scipio, one more word from you and I will have you arrested and thrown to the brig for insubordination,” said Reyna, visibly exasperated at not only the A.I. of her beloved capital ship, but also at Jason.

“With all due respect, Admiral,” said Scipio, his holographic form displaying a smirk much like the one that Jason was wearing on his face. “I am the _ship,_ and throwing me into my own brig is the equivalent of me putting you in your own stomach.”

“Scipio, I _swear._ I will take an axe to your core.”

“I wish you the best of luck in that endeavour, Admiral.” said Scipio, the smirk on his face unwavering. It did not even seem to have any effect on his regal bearing.

“As one of the most advanced A.I. present in the Vita Lyrae sector, my need for power dominates most of the ship.” Scipio conjured up a detailed schematic of the room that housed his processing core—although Jason was well aware there was a secondary back-up core in a more heavily-defended part of the ship. “Taking what is most likely to be a metal axe to my core is only going to make at least three hundred thousand volts of electricity coursing through your system.”

“Frankly, Admiral,” said Scipio, the smile on his face bordering on a friendly sneer, “I would not have expected such bad strategi—” There was a loud _ZAP_ sound followed by the clinking of the small spherical drone on the floor of the Scipio’s bridge.

“Gods damned nuisance,” Reyna muttered under her breath. The tip of the barrel of her plasma pistol was still glowing cherry-red from the heat of the ionized gas that had just passed through it.

“I heard that, Admiral,” said the disembodied voice of Scipio, filtering in through all the speakers around the bridge. Jason couldn’t help but snicker. A third holographic screen had appeared to show a very disapproving Tempest.

“Asshole” Tempest muttered. He wrapped his fingers around an imaginary cylinder and made motions as though he were tossing something over his shoulder.

“I heard that, too, Tempest,” said Scipio. “And don’t think I don’t know what you were doing with your hand. Since it seems you are so intent on such vulgarity, you can forget all about that invitation to Gestalt tonight.”

The hologram of Tempest immediately blinked out, just as Scipio fell quiet, as well. “Was that?” Reyna said, amused, disgusted, and baffled. “Gestalt? Is that their equivalent of having se—You know what, Grace, I don’t want to know about your perverse experiments with A.I.”

Percy groaned in his anaesthetic-induced slumber, snapping Jason back to his senses. Jason filed the situation about his father to the back of his mind. “Solace. I need Solace. I know you have him, Reyna.”

The Admiral regarded Jason with a very flat glare. “Are you seriously more concerned about that twink of yours than the absolute _disaster_ that we are facing right now, Grace?” she demanded.

“Stop calling him my _twink_ Admiral Ramirez!” Jason yelled, surprising both himself and one of his oldest and best friends. “I sent all of my confidantes his file. You should know by now that he isn’t just _some_ boy I picked up from one of those gods-forsaken bars you insist on dragging me to.”

“Percy might just prove to be the key to us getting Poseidon on our side, _finally._ So either tell me where Solace is, because I know that you know where he is, or I will have Tempest break into your data banks and give the information to me.” Jason glared at Reyna. “Gods help me, if you don’t cooperate…”

Reyna shook her head and sighed. “Jason,” she said, voice soft. “Scipio, my quarters, please,” she said. Reyna and the screen shimmered before reappearing, the bridge long left behind. “That transporter is pretty nifty, if you ask me,” said Reyna. “This isn’t just about Poseidon, is it?”

Jason averted his gaze. “Gods damn it, Jason!” said Reyna. “I know you said that you fall in love easily, but you barely know the boy. And let’s not have any delude ourselves here. He is just a _boy._ ” Reyna paused. “He’s barely a man. Whatever the fuck that means these days.”

“Jason. Jason, we have a crisis on our hands.” Reyna’s voice grew grim. “I don’t care how important the boy is to us strategically, but we can’t afford to have you pining, doe-eyed, moonstruck, over some piece of ass! Do I have to remind you what happened to my last second in command, _your fucking fiancé_ the last time we tried to strike back at the Hellenes?”

Jason hung his head. “I know,” he said. “I know. He tried to kill me, today.” Reyna fell immediately silent.

“Jake didn’t tell me that.” Jason looked up and saw that there were tears in Reyna’s eyes. Ones similar to his own.

“No, he didn’t.” Jason shook his head. “I told him not to share anything about what happened just yet.” He averted his gaze and wiped away the tears that had gathered at the corners of his eyes. “Just get me Will, Reyna.”

“Will do, captain,” said Reyna. “We have a visual on you.” Reyna’s eyes flicked over to the side. “Yes, thank you, Scipio. Give Tempest the day’s authorization code.” Her eyes flicked to the other side. “Kahale. Get Will to Tempest as soon as you can. I don’t care if he’s on Cerberus right now. Tell him this is important and if he refuses, tell Nico di Angelo that Percy is in danger.”

“For all our sakes, Jason,” said Reyna, turning her attention back to the CEO and president of Pantheon Industries, “I certainly hope you know what the fuck you’re doing.”

The screen quickly shrank into a vertical line before disappearing entirely. The projector drone went back to its place on the wall and left Jason in silence to contemplate. “I hope so too, Reyna,” he whispered, to no one in particular.

“I’ll make sure she hears of it, sir,” Tempest’s less-modulated robotic voice filtered through the speakers.

\---------

Jason rubbed his jaw, especially where it was still stinging from the resounding slap that he had just experienced. Nico di Angelo, despite his diminutive—compared to Jason—stature, packed quite the punch. From the balled fists he’d seen when the son of government alias: Hades entered the room, he’d half-expected to get punched in the face.

“Why the _fuck_ did you have to bring Percy into this?” Nico demanded. Jason was pretty sure that the trembling he could see in Nico’s frame was not the chills. It was quite obviously anger. “All Percy wanted to do was give Bessie a better home.”

“ _You_ brought Percy into this when _you_ told him about Bessie and what he has to do with the Oracle Drive.” Jason said, practically yelling over the din of Will setting up his equipment on the furthest bed. “If you wanted to keep him out of this, then _I_ didn’t fail you. _You_ failed.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? Bessie? The Oracle Drive?” Nico looked genuinely baffled, and Jason had to wonder if Percy had been keeping the knowledge away from the son of Hades, too. “Bessie is a fucking _Ophiotaurus._ He’s an alien species, of course, but that doesn’t mean that the secret to how the Oracle Drive is supposed to work exists in… his…”

Nico paled visibly and practically ran out of the room. “Tempest, put me through to Erebos. Right. Now!”

Jason looked over to Will, who was muttering under his breath in the corner. “Who are you talking to?” said Jason, eyebrow raised. Will tapped his temple, which briefly glowed a bright blue. “Nico. He says you’re an asshole for not telling him about this earlier, when he could have escaped the compound with Bessie in tow.”

“How was I supposed to know?” said Jason. His eyes flicked back over to Percy. “I just found out today.” Will shrugged. “And what was he saying before he ran out? What was that?”

“Nico says you’re an idiot if you still haven’t figured it out.” Jason raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Will. “He and Hades are yelling quite a few archaic Italian obscenities at each other right now that I am not going to repeat.”

“You know Italian?” said Jason, just as Will pressed a large section of the ring that he had been constructing into place.

“Archaic Language translator,” said Will, tapping his other temple, which briefly glowed green. “Your company produces them. Gods know why, considering how small of a market you’ve got to sell it to. Either way, it helps considering Nico likes slipping into Archaic Italian _very_ often.” Will waggled his eyebrows in Jason’s direction. “Especially during sex.”

“There,” said Will, plugging in a final part to the machine he had spent the last hour constructing. The large ring, much larger than the scanner from earlier, whirred to life. Four arms detached from the ring’s inner circumference, no doubt mounted with laser scalpels and all sorts of surgical tools.

“Hold on,” said Jason, as he moved Percy onto a stretcher. “That’s a superficial rejuve machine, isn’t it?” he said.

“Basically,” said Will, patting the side of the construct. “It’s more advanced. Medical grade, if you will. It’s really the only choice that we have at the moment. A proper rejuve is the only way to get rid of all the unbiunium in his body but this will do for now.”

Jason warily brought the stretcher over to where Will was standing with his ring. “I can target the most problematic radiation areas, and maybe fix up that wound properly. You did a decent job not letting him bleed to death, but that’s not going to hold very long.”

Jason sighed, but Will patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. “He’ll be fine, Jason, but only if you make sure he gets on a rejuve cycle as soon as possible. I’ll do it for you, if you want, but you know what it means.”

“Eight hours minimum a day in the tank, preferably during the sleep cycle,” Jason breathed. Will had been pestering him to do the treatment himself, but he had actually grown fond of his graying hair. “I’d do it alongside him if I could keep my current looks.” Will nodded, seemingly pensive.

“Well, that’s one way to get him in your bed,” said Will, with a laugh, after a moment’s silence. “Although it’s not so much a bed as a huge tank filled with solution and nanobots.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lessons learned from this chapter: never break off an engagement lest your ex-fiancé reappear years later trying to assassinate you, never trust Jason Grace with programming your A.I. because you're going to end up with one that is permanently set to "sassy motherfucker" personality, and, Will Solace has a weird conception of what it means to get someone in your bed. :3
> 
> What did you guys think of the massive bombshell that I dropped here? *cackles evilly* I would love to read what you have to say. <3.


	6. Rejuve

Percy moaned as his eyes fluttered open. Despite being shot once—almost twice—he had had rather pleasant dreams while he had been out. The words he heard when he woke up were quite nice, too, the voice that spoke them almost musical. “Does that mean you want to go camping, Percy, or are you just happy to see me?”

Percy slowly shook his head from side to side. It was much too bright. He tried to raise his arm to shield his eye, only remembering that he had been _shot_ in his arm when pain flared.

Percy felt as though he had been through a barfight. His shoulder throbbed with pain, but the rest of his body felt sore. His skin felt raw and exposed. Silently, he noted to himself that getting shot was not the best idea, even if it was to save his boss.

Although, Percy had to admit, if there was any chance of Jason getting cloned he would be the first to purchase a set of two. His rather lurid, anaesthetic-induced dream had involved being fucked in both ends by the somewhat-greying CEO. He shivered at the thought, his hard cock throbbing underneath the sheet that covered him.

Percy wondered if the idle fantasies of his tranquilized mind had been true. His entire body felt heavy, although, there was no trace of the twine that the dream-Jasons had used to tie his hands behind his back.

Percy blinked, as his eyes adjusted to the light. He looked, uncomprehending, at the rejuve ring that was hovering around his bed. He couldn’t quite tell what it was, though his thoughts were still sluggish from being knocked out. He looked elsewhere and saw a mop of blond hair that, for a brief moment, made his heart flip.

“Morning, Percy,” said the blond, turning to present Percy with a much younger face than Jason’s. “I was wondering when you would come to.” Dressed in the snowy-white jumpsuit of a medic, with a red cross printed on the chest, was Will Solace.

It took a moment for Percy to register that not only was Will there, but that he was also naked under the sheets and that said sheets were tented around his groin area. In his haste to cover up he entirely forgot about the rejuve ring that was hovering around his bed, and immediately regretted his decision.

There was a resounding smack as Percy’s forehead met the side of the lightweight alloy exterior of the rejuve ring. “Ow! Fuck!” he yelled, falling back on the pillow that he hadn’t even noticed had been under his head until then. “The fuck is this?”

“Anyway,” said Will. The doctor walked over to Percy’s side and gently tapped the underside of his arm. Percy gingerly raised it, wincing in pain. “Hm,” said Will, a pensive look on his face. “That’s not good. Might have to put you in a sling for a while.”

“Well, regardless,” Will noted something down on the digital clipboard he was carrying. Percy didn’t think it was very practical to be using a clipboard when Will clearly had a neural link.

“Considering how you seem to have the hots for your boss, I have taken the liberty to prescribe a regiment that should help you cope in the event that you ever have to deal with severe sexual frustration when it comes to him,” said Will. The grin on the doctor’s face was so wide that Percy was _convinced_ he would get along just fine with his ex-boyfriend’s new boyfriend.

“What do you mean by that?” said Percy, gingerly rubbing the lump forming on his forehead with his good arm. Will snorted and pressed a hand to the side of the rejuve ring, passing the entire structure over Percy and off the far end of the bed. Percy watched as the ring hovered over to one side of the room, a safe distance away from any more Percy foreheads that could slam into it.

“Haven’t you heard the stories?” said Will, still grinning rather cheekily. There was a brief lull in the conversation, as though Will was getting somewhat distracted. There was a pink hue to his cheeks when he started chuckling. “Nico says that he has never encountered a more frigid stuck-up bitch than Jason.”

Percy thought back to the way that the CEO of Pantheon Industries had _practically_ accosted him in the break-room and briefly wondered if he and Nico were thinking of the _same_ Jason.

The Jason that Percy had come to know, however _briefly_ had seemed more like the guy that the tabloids painted him to be than what Nico was saying. “Interesting,” said Percy, eyes flickering to the blue light intermittently flashing from Will’s left temple.

Percy raised his voice, just in case Nico was listening in to their conversation. He _wanted_ Nico to hear this bit. “That’s a _very_ interesting observation coming from your boyfriend, Will,” he said. Will raised an eyebrow at him, but he only winked in response. “Takes one to know one, I guess.”

Percy smirked as Will bit his lower lip. It was abundantly clear that the doctor was fighting back laughter, judging from the short breaths and the tears gathering at the corners of Will’s eyes. There were a quite a few inhuman snorting noises coming from that side of the room, and Percy was _satisfied_ in the knowledge that Nico was probably mentally cursing him out in Italian.

Percy took the brief lull in conversation as a chance to examine his strange surroundings. He looked to be in a fully-operational med bay, though he couldn’t quite tell where. He supposed he was on Tempest, though again, he couldn’t be sure. He could just as well be on Will’s Caduceus. “Where am I?” he said, when Will finally regained some semblance of composure.

Will pointed at the decal on one of the walls of the medbay, an eagle that Percy knew should be gold, but painted red to match the theme of the rest of the facility. “You are aboard the NRSS Tempest. Might want to give the ship a break. He’s had to deal with Jason ever since you saved Jason’s life from that attempt on it.”

Will patted Percy’s shoulder, but when Percy tried to get up, that same hand kept him in place. “Where’s Jason?” said Percy, looking about the room. He had only _just_ recalled why exactly it was that he had been shot. There had been an assassin. One that Jason seemed to have recognized. “Is he alright?”

“It will take more than an assassin with a gun to take out our beloved leader,” said Will, with a smirk. Percy got the sense that it was a platitude that was bandied about more than it should be. He didn’t find it particularly clever or funny. “Don’t worry,” said Will. “He’ll be fine.”

“You, however,” said Will, taking a seat on the bed beside Percy. “You are another matter entirely. The bullet that you got shot with? It was covered in nanopellets of stabilized unbiunium that was destabilized by your body heat. You are currently a walking radiation hazard.”

Percy felt the blood leave his face. Whatever flush he’d had to him from his earlier dream about the multiple Jasons immediately disappeared. Will’s other hand, surprisingly gentle and warm settled on Percy’s arm. His voice was _soothing,_ too. Like the sound of water in a tank rippling when no one else was around. “The rejuve ring was so that I could try to get the worst of it out of you. Good news is that I managed to. You’re not going to die in the next few days.”

Percy breathed a sigh of relief, but it was a guarded one. From the way that Will had said the words, he suspected there was a big ‘but’ involved. “But,” said Will, as though reading Percy’s thoughts, “The problem is that a lot of the unbiunium is still in you. As more and more of it decays… well, let’s just say it won’t be pretty.”

“Tempest isn’t the smartest when it comes to biology,” said Will. There was a scoff from the speakers in the med bay, but nothing more. “It’s not his fault. He’s a scout/transport frigate. Anyway, Tempest ran a couple of rudimentary simulations and as far as we know, until Caduceus gets back to me, the longer the unbiunium is in you, the higher your core temperature is going to get.”

“And I will literally die from being cooked inside out,” said Percy. He averted his gaze from Will’s. The blue of Will’s eyes had been comforting to look at for a while, but now they were ever so slightly distracting.

“Well, you _could,_ ” said Will as he squeezed Percy’s arm. “ _Or,_ you could do as I recommend and undergo a proper rejuve treatment. What I did for you was _pretty_ much a band-aid since Jason refused to move you to the Scipio’s much more capable facilities—and Caduceus is unfortunately on the other side of the planet right now.”

Percy turned to face Will. “Jason didn’t want to move me to Scipio?” he said. Will smiled at him, this one actually tender and affectionate. “Why would he do that?”

“No offense to anyone involved,” said a voice that drifted from the speakers in the med bay, “but Sir Grace has not had a very good track record of sanity today.”

“Ignore him,” said Will, patting Percy’s arm. “Tempest’s sarcastic manner of speaking was programmed into him by Jason.” Percy felt a twitch on the corners of his lips. He would never have pegged Jason for the type to program A.I., much less snarky ones.

“Jason said that you were his personal responsibility,” said Will. “And between you and me,” the doctor continued, “I think that he feels like he owes you something for saving his life.”

Percy wondered if that were truly the case. “But the way that he turned around and shot that guy in two seconds…” Percy shivered, the memories returning as the spell of the anaesthetic loosed its hold on him. “That was scary,” he said, “I’m not sure I needed to be there, at all.”

Percy shook his head. “Whatever,” he said. “I… I haven’t ever done rejuve before. I’m _actually_ 19\. Half of all the people I’ve talked to that look my age are apparently some couple of decades older than me.”

Will snorted. “I’m _actually_ in my late twenties, too. Nico’s an old man, though.” Percy allowed himself a chuckle. He’d used that joke enough times before. And judging from the pink that crept into Will’s cheeks, Nico responded to Will in the exact same way that he used to with Percy. “But you don’t have to be afraid of doing rejuve. It’s a mostly painless procedure.”

“But I don’t understand what makes the rejuve with that ring thing different from what you say is _proper_ rejuve,” said Percy. He’d seen Bessie undergo rejuvenation treatment, but he had always thought that animal rejuvenation was vastly different to human rejuvenation.

“Well, the ring can only do so much,” said Will. “Proper rejuve involves the nutrient tank and having your body flooded with nanobots. That’s why it’s the only treatment that’s going to work with your current predicament. I can instruct the nanobots to piece by piece remove and dispose of the unbiunium in your body.”

Nutrient tanks and nanobot swarms. Percy was not particularly happy to be privy to the knowledge that animal rejuvenation was _practically_ the same as human rejuvenation. “But wouldn’t that mean I would have to be in the tank for a long time?” he said. He wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

“For the better part of two weeks at _least,_ ” said Will, “That is, if you were undergoing full-time rejuve.” Will shook his head and chuckled. “I offered to do it for Jason, but he said that he wouldn’t agree to putting you in a tank for _maybe_ a month and that he thinks you wouldn’t particularly like it, either.”

Will shrugged. “I don’t see the difference, personally, since you’re knocked out the whole time, anyway.” Will patted Percy, again. “But the other choice is that you get to _sleep_ in a rejuve tank. Eight hours a day, every day, for the next probably five or six months.”

Percy’s thoughts wandered back to Jason, and he felt an ache in his chest. What if there _really_ was something between him and his boss? He felt it was wrong to be fantasizing like this, _especially_ for someone that he had only just met, but the way that Jason had manhandled him in the break room had left _quite_ the impression.

Truth be told, there was a part of Percy that was beginning to plot how to get in the CEO’s bed, but he was well aware that such a thing would be nigh-impossible if he was to sleep in a rejuve tank for the next five or six months.

Percy was brought back to the present by a quick, playful grope at his crotch. “Boy,” said Will, with a smirk, “Do I wish you had a neural interface broadcasting all those thoughts about Jason.”

Percy’s face flushed red. He stammered for a few moments, trying to find the right words. When he failed, miserably, he just took his free hand and slid it over his groin to hide his growing erection. “Mind your own business, Solace,” he growled—much less threateningly than he would have wanted.

“I don’t have a choice,” Percy murmured. “I’ll take the full-time treatment,” he said. “I don’t care if Jason doesn’t want me to do it. I don’t need his money.” That last comment made Percy bite his lip. He _did_ actually need the money, but he supposed there was no better way to spend it than in saving his own life.

“Oh, darling,” said Will, with a chuckle, “You don’t have to pay for anything. Jason just gave his grudging consent, too.” Will patted his arm and murmured, just softly enough that Percy wasn’t sure if he was meant to hear it, “Oooh. Daddy’s going to be _happy_ tonight.”

“Speaking of Daddy,” Tempest chimed from the speakers, “Mister Jackson’s hopeful _sugardaddy-to-be_ wants him at Scipio’s bridge ASAP.” A wheelchair rolled into the med bay, seemingly of its own volition, but Percy didn’t _really_ notice it. His vision had contracted to the one visible speaker on the opposite side of the med bay.

Will was chortling out loud, snorting every now and again at the implication. Percy’s mind had _practically_ shut down at the word “sugardaddy,” though it was more so because he had never once considered what Jason’s motives for taking him in could be. He wasn’t about to complain, but frankly, he just found the thought _too_ arousing to process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even Tempest can see that _clearly_ Jason has ulterior motives for taking Percy in. :3. I mean, I think he genuinely likes Percy and feels some affection there, on top of Percy's strategic importance, but it's pretty damn obvious that Jason is also thinking with his dick. Right? :3
> 
> I'd like to read what you guys have to say about this chapter, so don't hesitate to leave a comment!


	7. Past Loves

Percy’s mind was whirling with the implications of what Tempest had just said. His cock throbbed between his legs, almost painfully. Sugardaddy. He would never have thought just how great of an impact a single word could have on him, but ‘sugardaddy’ definitely took the cake.

Percy gingerly lowered himself into the wheelchair that Tempest had so _helpfully_ provided. Thankfully, Will was there to help him, and the doctor’s firm but gentle grasp on his arm helped ease the pain that throbbed when he moved. It took a few moments for Percy to settle into the chair, but the moment he did, he leaned back and sank into the soft backrest of the chair.

Groaning softly from the ache in his arm, and naked as the day he was born, Percy couldn’t help but feel a little bit self-conscious when Will approached him with a sling for his arm. The next few minutes started out promising, but devolved into Percy squirming where he sat. Will’s fingers were masterful, it seemed, in both the art of healing and relentless teasing.

Every time that Will’s fingers, with their near-unnatural warmth hovered too close to his straining erection, Percy had to bite back a moan. He wanted his manhood to go soft, but it simply wouldn’t cooperate. The image of Jason fucking him had been burned into his mind by that comment that probably hadn’t even meant much to the ship.

By the time that the fitting ordeal was over and done with, Will draped a heavy sheet around Percy’s shoulders. It had turned out that Tempest had no hospital gowns aboard, though Percy got the feeling that Will wasn’t about to complain about getting to eat up the sight of his lithe form. Percy wasn’t about to admit to it, but he _did_ fancy the thought that he was an attractive young man.

“Are you ready to meet Admiral Ramirez?” said Will, his hands finding the handles on the wheelchair. There was a knowing smile plastered across Will’s face, one that Percy didn’t quite know what to make of. Even so, while Percy had heard of Admiral Ramirez’ stern reputation, it wasn’t her that he feared seeing.

Percy was quite afraid of seeing Jason in his current state—naked and injured. He was afraid of seeing Jason and having to face stirrings in the pit of his stomach that he had long forgotten could even happen. When Will pushed him out of the med bay and into one of Tempest’s few corridors, a realization hit and sank a cold knot into his gut. Whatever Jason’s reasons were, the news couldn’t be good if they had docked with Scipio.

“It’s not her I’m worried about,” said Percy. He looked up over his shoulder at Will, the man that had made Nico happy in the way that he had never been able to. He decided it was a bad idea the moment he saw the glitter of mischief in Will’s blue eyes. They were much too similar to Jason’s—though not as tempered with age. “I’m worried about _why_ we’re on Scipio. I take it Nico’s here, too?”

There was a brief thoughtful look on Will’s face. It passed _very_ quickly. “He is,” said Will. Percy had known it to be true, but the confirmation was more troubling than not. If Nico, Will, Jason, and Admiral Ramirez were all on the same ship together, Percy was _sure_ that the news wasn’t good.

Percy briefly thought over all the possibilities, but really, there was only one. “What did Zeus do?” he said, as they turned a corner.

“So perceptive,” Will chimed. Percy frowned over his shoulder, but there was a twinkle in the doctor’s eye that automatically disarmed him.

“Well,” Percy admitted, “not really.” Despite himself, his cheeks flushed pink. “It’s just… Well. TITAN can be a nuisance every now and again, but despite all of their attacks on Nova Olympia, all they’ve done is deface government property.” Will stopped their journey for a second, and when Percy looked over his shoulder, he was sure it was surprise he saw on Will’s face. “ _And,_ ” Percy continued, as he shifted his weight from one sore asscheek to the other, “They seem genuine in the principles that they say they stand for.”

“But,” said Percy, unable to stop the fingers of his one good hand from tapping on the armrest of the wheelchair, “Zeus is the biggest threat to the stability of this planet and its government. One man shouldn’t have that much power, especially someone as _crazy_ as Zeus.”

Percy’s thoughts wandered to the computer at the Hangar calling Jason ‘son of Zeus.’ He had to wonder why Jason let it happen, and whether it was just a one-off thing for dramatic effect in front of Percy. _He_ was pretty sure that he would find _any_ way to distance himself from his father if it had turned out to be Zeus. He had already done well enough in that with regard to Poseidon.

Will chuckled. “I don’t care if Zeus is Jason’s father and Jason still has his delusions about helping that guy, but _I_ think that Zeus is probably certifiably insane,” he said. “Not that I would want to be the poor schmuck that diagnoses him.” Percy rolled his eyes, but the sentiment was understandable. He didn’t want to be put in that unfortunate position, either.

A whirr and a click was all the warning that Percy got before a hovering drone made its presence known to the two of them. A holographic screen appeared, bearing the likeness of Tempest. The A.I. did what seemed to be a double-take, and started earnestly looking at Percy with knotted eyebrows.

Percy did _not_ like being examined so closely by Tempest, as life-like as the A.I. might have seemed. “Oh gods,” said Tempest, sending a cold shard of momentary terror into Percy’s chest. “You look similar to me.” Percy’s rising panic immediately evaporated. Tempest leaned over the side of the screen and started heaving. “Oh gods. Does that mean _I’m_ sir Grace’s type, too?”

Percy started choking on his spit, but thankfully, Will was there to pick up his slack. “You’re so full of yourself, Tempest,” said Will, with a smirk. The doctor shook his head. “To what do we owe the pleasure of this seeing off?”

Tempest gestured behind him to his airlock. “You require Scipio’s authorization code, Master Solace,” said Tempest. The neural link on Will’s right temple blinked yellow and purple. “The old codger isn’t letting anyone move freely inside of him unless necessary because of all the high-profile visitors at the moment.”

Tempest paused and turned his eyes to Percy, who had mostly recovered from the choking incident. “Includes you, mister Jackson,” said the A.I. “It’s simply the most logical and most secure course of action. Of course, Scipio refuses to acknowledge that he made the executive decision because I suggested it.”

“Whatever spat you two are getting involved in,” said Percy, “I don’t think I want to know. I don’t think I want to be a part of it, either.” Tempest looked at him and smiled. “I’m in enough shit as it is,” he said, gesturing at his shoulder.

“Wise choice, mister Jackson,” said Tempest. “But if you notice the lights flickering aboard Scipio, do not be afraid. I will simply be exacting my vengeance on that old git.”

“You do realize that Scipio is only a few cycles older than you, right, Tempest?” said Will. “And, if I remember correctly, Tempest the A.I. is technically older than Scipio the A.I. since Jason programmed you first.”

Tempest turned his attention to Will and bared his teeth. “It is impolite to point out to a lady that she is older than she thinks,” said Tempest. “Do watch yourself on your way out, Master Solace. We would not want you to get crushed in the airlock doors.”

With that, the drone whirred and clicked once more before attaching itself to the wall. Percy looked over his shoulder at Will. He was somewhat surprised that the doctor looked unimpressed by Tempest’s threat, since getting squeezed into pulp by airlock doors was quite a bad way to go.

“Oh don’t worry,” said Will. He patted Percy’s shoulder as they went through the first of the airlock’s doors. “There are hardwired safety mechanisms in the ship. Besides, it would go against Tempest’s directive to not harm any humans that are not direct threats. Jason _was_ kind and let him make empty threats, though.”

“It certainly helps that Tempest has impeccable comedic timing,” said Will. “Reyna told me about that one time that Jason and Luke were fooling around by the airlock and were about to _actually_ fuck when Tempest appeared and threatened to jettison them both out into space.”

“Luke?” said Percy. He had been preparing to drone off, expecting incessant smalltalk from Will, but apparently the doctor had less of a brain-mouth filter than he had thought. “I’ve never heard about a Luke.”

Silence descended upon the two young men as Will wheeled Percy out of Tempest and into Scipio’s main hangar. “Ah, shit,” said Will, after a while. “I knew I shouldn’t have opened my big mouth.” Percy looked over his shoulder and saw that Will was tapping nervously on one of the handles of the wheelchair. “And I thought Nico was bad at keeping secrets while talking to Hazel.”

“Whatever,” said Will. “You didn’t hear it from me, but Jason was engaged once. This all happened long before New Rome was the powerhouse it is today, and Zeus did not want the tabloids finding out his only surviving son was gay. That’s the only reason few people on this damned planet still know about Luke.”

Percy’s thoughts wandered back to the scene he’d watched unfold after he had been shot. He had seen the hesitation, the reluctance, the pain, in Jason’s eyes before Jason fired the gun. He also remembered a name being said. “Castellan,” Percy whispered, heart sinking in his chest.

“Yeah,” said Will, absentmindedly, as they entered the main body of Scipio. “Luke Castellan.” The wheelchair came to a screeching stop. Percy pitched forward and nearly fell out of it. “Wait,” said Will. “How did you know that name?”

“Jason said he wanted to talk to Castellan after he had been put in custody.” Percy looked at Will and watched as Will’s face slowly became bereft of colour. “After I had been shot, and, well, after Jason shot the guy.”

\----------

The door to Scipio’s bridge slid open with a hiss. Percy got a brief look at the sparkling and regal purple-and-gold avatar of the ship’s A.I. before he was wrapped up in a tight embrace, one with a warmth that was all too familiar. “I’m glad you’re okay, Perce,” said the only man he had ever been in a serious relationship with, “You’re such an idiot.”

After a brief moment of shocked silence from everyone—understandable since Nico di Angelo wasn’t the most outwardly-affectionate person on the planet—Nico pulled away and said, with a grin, “You should have just let Jason get shot. He can handle it.”

“Are you trying to say that I can’t handle a bullet or two, di Angelo?” said Percy, the grin plastered across his face mirroring the one on Nico’s. “I’m glad to see you.” It was true. Percy and Nico had parted on well enough terms that they had remained friends afterwards, though they had never again met in person until today.

With a considerable amount of effort, Percy balled his one good hand into a fist and punched Nico in the shoulder affectionately. Nico shook his head and pressed a kiss to Percy’s forehead. “ _Bello,_ you’re too noble, sometimes,” he said.

If Percy hadn’t met Will beforehand, he would have been uncomfortable with the term of endearment, but after he had experienced what Will Solace was willing to do to him—the hungry looks that the doctor had observed him with—he was sure that there would be no jealousy with what was going on. If anything, Percy was convinced that it would all just lead to perverted fantasies. Frankly, if he was invited to a threesome with the two handsome men, he wasn’t about to object—especially if they were open to expanding it into a foursome with Jason.

“Hey,” said Will, leaning forward across the back of the wheelchair. He pecked Nico on the cheek, but lingered. “Don’t I get a kiss on the forehead, too?” Nico gently tapped Will on the cheek and chuckled.

“You lost a bet, _amore,_ ” said Nico. “You’ll get exactly how many you want tonight—and a lot more.”

A twinge of pink crept into Percy’s cheeks. The playfully threatening tone of Nico’s voice had sent a shiver down his spine. He couldn’t help but imagine Jason saying the same thing to him, with a lopsided smirk. Gods knew he would have fallen on his knees then and there. Since when had he turned into such a lovestruck teenager? Gods knew.

“We didn’t have to hear that, Nico,” said a voice that made Percy’s heart ache. Nico rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Now, if you don’t mind, let’s get Percy into the bridge before anyone else has a chance to see that we have a special guest on the comms.”

Nico turned around and made faces at Jason, much to Percy’s delight, both because of the utterly baffled look on Jason’s face, and the fact that the Nico he had known those few short years ago, would never have done such a thing. He looked over his shoulder at Will, again, glad that this man had come along to be there while Nico put the pieces of his life together.

Percy hadn’t been able to provide the support that Nico needed in that dark time, and inevitably, it had damaged their relationship. Nevertheless, he was glad that Nico was happy, now. The son of Hades stepped aside and let Will push Percy into the bridge proper. The door hissed shut behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7. We talk about the past relationships of our main protagonists and find out that in this AU... Will and Nico are rampaging nymphomaniacs. Also, Tempest is sensitive about his age. :3.
> 
> What did you think of this chapter? :3. Was it fun? Is the slow burn killing you? >:]


	8. Ophiotauroi

When Nico stepped out of Percy’s line of sight, the bridge of Scipio came into full view. Percy’s breath hitched in his throat at beholding the sheer _magnitude_ of what was essentially the brains of the ship.

Percy had himself never been on ARKIII, but the size of Scipio’s control room was what he had always imagined the ARKIII’s would be. In fact, he felt as though the bridge was more suited to be the command centre of a project similar in scope and calibre as OMPHALOS.

Percy, however, understood that there was good reason for the room’s exorbitant size. Scipio was the _only_ Trinity-class starship that served the people of C-Vita Lyrae, called such because it fulfilled the roles of mothership, habitat, and flagship. Scipio himself could only do so much, and maintaining the life-support systems and defenses of the colossal ship were taxing enough. Scipio’s bridge was _also_ the mobile command centre of the entire New Rome fleet.

The size of the bridge was only accentuated by its eerie emptiness. Percy had expected a skeleton crew, not a ghost one. Consoles that Percy was _sure_ would have been buzzing with activity, and streams upon streams of pre-processed data from Scipio’s sensors, were currently dead. Their operators were likewise absent, and what would have been a very lively place on any other day, was silent as death.

Percy looked around. The bridge was circular, though split into two wings that gently sloped upward, forming an elevated rim around an imaginary central cylinder. Where the two wings met along the centre of the circle was a suspended walkway to a circular platform that stood at the heart of the bridge.

There were three chairs on that circular platform, each with holographic projectors that were currently inactive. Percy supposed those were the seats for the Admiral, the Captain, and the First Lieutenant of Scipio. It was presumably also the figurative seat of power for the entire New Rome fleet.

Percy suspected that the wings of the bridge were platforms, as well. Even though they were filled with rows of consoles, he had every reason to believe that they were hollow underneath to make room for more consoles and crew members. Nevertheless, he could not be sure. Apart from what little he could see to either side of the walkway to the central platform, he could not see underneath the gently sloping wings of Scipio’s bridge.

Percy turned his eyes to what he could _actually_ see at the moment. Projected onto the spherical structure that housed Scipio’s bridge were a couple of screens. One of them was so dark that it almost looked like Scipio was projecting a dead console. However, Percy knew better.

Jason had mentioned a special guest on the comlink, and Percy was pretty sure that he was looking at the bridge of Erebos—the most enigmatic ship in the region of C-Vita Lyrae. Perpetually cloaked and dark, few people ever had the privilege of actually _seeing_ Erebos, and even those who had refused to speak of it.

Percy’s eyes flitted to Nico, whose jaw had become set, and whose eyes had turned hard. Yes, even Nico had refused to talk about the true nature of Erebos. Although, Percy clearly remembered Nico telling him that Erebos was not a ship that took kindly to strangers.

Percy nearly jumped out of his wheelchair when he felt a hand clap onto his shoulder. He hadn’t even noticed Jason coming near him. His heart fluttered when he looked up and saw his boss smiling down at him. The lines at the corners of Jason’s eyes betrayed that he was a man used to smiling despite the grim appearance he often put forward.

Percy swallowed down the nervousness that reared up inside of him. He nodded in Jason’s direction but quickly averted his gaze. He looked up at the projected screens again and noted, with surprise, that one of the screens was displaying a faint and distant star. In the foreground, just _barely_ distinguishable from the background darkness of space, was a planet dimly lit by the light of the parent star that had ejected it.

“Is that?” said Percy, voice soft, as he turned his eyes back to Jason.

Sadness briefly shadowed Jason’s electric blue eyes, sharp despite the years that hid behind them. The hand on Percy’s shoulder tightened, though it was still comforting despite the firmness of the grip. “Home?” asked Jason. “Yeah. That’s home. That’s us. Everyone you’ve ever met depends on that planet, and it’s doomed without the Oracle Drive. Doomed with, even, if Zeus stays in power.”

Percy turned his eyes back to C-Vita Lyrae as a cold knot of dread settled into the pit of his stomach. The educational texts he’d spent a lot of his time reading had always depicted Vita Lyrae as much brighter—much closer than it was now. The truth was difficult to swallow.

Percy had always seen Nova Olympia as a beacon of hope for the people of C-Vita Lyrae and all their subterranean cities. Now, it seemed, that Nova Olympia was just as doomed as the rest of the forsaken world unless they found a way to steer it back to what the experts believed was its original orbit around Vita Lyrae.

Percy bit his lower lip, emotions suddenly welling within him. He looked at Jason. He knew that Jason had come from earth, kept alive by constant rejuvenation on the long trip to the Vita Lyrae system. He wondered, briefly, if the way he felt now was the way that Jason felt all those years ago, in the months leading up to the departure of the ARK ships which had been the last hope of a young race on a doomed planet.

Percy shivered, but Jason’s hand on his shoulder helped to ground him. Jason gave him an encouraging squeeze, and he couldn’t help but lean into it. Percy couldn’t help but be glad, considering his current emotional state, that he had been unconscious on the way to orbit. He didn’t think he could have handled flying over the barren, perpetually twilit wasteland of C-Vita Lyrae’s surface.

“Percy,” said a disembodied voice from the speakers around the bridge. It was a deep voice, thickly accented and slick as oil. “For what it is worth,” said Hades, “I am glad that you are alive.”

Percy couldn’t help the warmth that crept into his cheeks. Hades had _not_ been happy with him after he had called things off with Nico, but Percy had always understood. Besides, kind words such as those coming from a man like Hades were worth a lot. “However,” said Hades, “I am _not_ happy that there are things you have kept from me. The true reason for Zeus’ obsession with the _Ophiotauroi_ and your friend _Bessie,_ for example.”

Percy gulped, audibly, and a look around the room revealed that everyone, with the notable exception of Jason, was looking at him expectantly. Even the glittering avatar of Scipio had manifested with a curious look. “I wouldn’t dream of forcing you into revealing something that would risk your safety,” said Jason, gently, “but right now, and if I am right, your goals align with ours. Right now, we are the only people with enough resources on this forsaken planet to _actually_ stand a chance against my father.”

Percy hung his head and sighed. He looked at Nico and said, “I suspect you already figured out where to look?” Percy looked over his shoulder at Scipio. “Scipio, would you mind bringing me a microscope and anything I can use to retrieve nanomachines?” The A.I. blinked at him uncomprehendingly for a moment. “Please?” Scipio looked at Admiral Ramirez for a moment, and after receiving a nod, Scipio briefly closed his eyes. “Thank you,” said Percy.

Percy looked at Admiral Ramirez. “Where can I start typing something that I can relay to Erebos, too?” he said. He shoved aside the anxiety he felt at sharing this information, but he felt like he had no other choice. He wheeled himself forward, toward the Admiral’s seat that Reyna was gesturing at.

Jason stepped in front of Percy. “Percy,” said Jason, genuine concern in his eyes. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” There were other words that remained unsaid, though the look that Jason gave him nevertheless revealed them. Percy was well aware that Jason knew he was afraid.

“No, Jason,” Percy said. He wheeled himself forward, surprised to find that Will had let go of the wheelchair’s handles. “You were right. If there’s any chance that we can stop Zeus before he hurts anyone and takes over planetary government, I have to do this.”

“Perc—!” Jason stumbled over his own feet when Admiral Ramirez pulled him roughly to the side. Percy nodded gratefully at Reyna.

“Let’s just say that I was suspicious of the _Ophiotauroi_ from the beginning,” said Percy. He looked over his shoulder at Jason, and immediately regretted it. He could very clearly see that Jason wanted to stop him for reasons he didn’t entirely comprehend. Jason wanted to protect him, but he didn’t exactly know why. Maybe it was because he had saved Jason’s life, but from the look in the CEO’s face, he suspected it was something else entirely.

“There was only ever one specimen,” said Percy. “ _Bessie._ But even he was strange. Chimera typically don’t have a very robust genetic structure, since they’re made up of two genetically distinct populations of cells. They’re fertile a lot of the time, but they don’t _actually_ produce Chimera. The difference with the Ophiotauroi is that they have been observed to breed in captivity, producing Ophiotauroi young.”

“Wait,” said Will. The one person with any training in biology stepped forward. “But wouldn’t that make the Ophiotauroi _just_ another species? How are we even sure they are chimeric if they produce chimeric offspring?”

“Because they _are_ made of two genetically distinct populations of cells!” said Percy. “That’s the problem. It’s like a Lyran Sea-Bull and a Lyran Sea-Serpent were perfectly spliced together.” Percy looked meaningfully at Will. “It’s not normal, _especially_ for a species that we _initially_ thought had _evolved_ through the Darwinian mechanism.”

Percy leaned back for a moment, tired from all the talking. Jason tried to walk toward him, but Admiral Ramirez pulled Jason back. “Honestly,” said Percy, when the brief moment of fatigue passed, “I didn’t really think it was much of anything for a while until it came to my attention that Zeus, in particular, led an initiative to hunt the _Ophiotauroi_ to near extinction, keeping only a couple hundred breeding pairs alive.”

Percy’s eyes flitted over to the screen that hid Hades’ face. “ _That_ was when I started to get _really_ interested. I checked the genetic code over and over again, but nothing looked awry.”

“I didn’t even know where to start until one night, when I was working on an unrelated project, the word ‘POWERHOUSE’ started flashing across my screen.” Percy looked at Will. “I thought it was a prank at first, but I realized it was referring to the Mitochondria when one of my then-colleagues started talking about how stupid it was that people still kept repeating ‘the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell’ a few thousand years after we left earth.”

Will couldn’t help but snicker. “So I took a look at Bessie’s mitochondria. Lo and behold, there were four kinds. Two were normal, from each of the two distinct cell populations. But there were a third and fourth, for both the bull and the serpent halves. They were rendered inert by machines many thousand times smaller than the smallest we can currently produce, and the DNA inside made absolutely _no_ sense.”

Percy caught a couple of nervous looks being passed around in the bridge. For once, Erebos was illuminated, albeit dimly. Hades, pale and gaunt, was frowning in Percy’s direction. “There was no doubt in my mind—then and now—that the _Ophiotauroi_ are a genetically engineered species and that Zeus wants _something_ from that weird mitochondrial DNA.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if you guys caught the big bombshell that was dropped in this chapter, but basically, what happened is that C-Vita Lyrae was kicked, somehow, out of its orbit. With each passing year, the planet is rocketing away from its parent star and the surface is becoming progressively colder. Enough time has passed that the temperatures on the surface of C-Vita Lyrae have reached low enough levels that the atmosphere has sublimated into ice on the surface.
> 
> Most, but not all, of the above-ground settlements on C-Vita Lyrae have been abandoned at this point, and the lack of solar energy is threatening the settlements that are closer to the surface. Nova Olympia is about a mile and a half underground, so it's still safe. It also relies on Nuclear Fusion in order to satisfy its energy needs, so it's not _directly_ threatened by the conditions on the surface. Still, there's very little agriculture going on, and they rely on regular shipments from ARKIII to sustain themselves. :3
> 
> Anyway, I wonder if any of you caught the Carl Sagan reference in this chapter. :3. That would be interesting. I would love you forever if you caught it. *cackles* Anyway, what did you think of the chapter? The bombshells and everything? *grins* Leave a comment. I promise it would make my day. :D.


	9. Afraid

Percy looked at Nico. Guilt he’d been hiding for years twisted and turned in the pit of his stomach. It hadn’t gnawed at him this badly for so very long. “Me breaking up with Nico as soon as I did wasn’t an accident.” Percy leaned back again, tears stinging the corners of his eyes. “I didn’t have the courage to do it when I did, but I definitely had the motivation.”

Percy looked at Jason. He didn’t know why, but he did. Jason immediately looked at him, distressed. When Reyna held Jason back, Jason pulled his arm away and ignored her. He walked over to Percy and stood in front of him.

Percy could feel everyone looking at the two of them. “You might be fooling them,” Jason whispered, reaching down to take Percy’s good hand, “But you’re not fooling me. I know this is painful, and I want you to know that you don’t have to say anything more. You’ve already told us more than enough.”

The warmth of Jason’s fingers intertwined with his own sent shivers down Percy’s spine. He squeezed his eyes shut and blinked his tears away. “You don’t understand,” said Percy. “When I sequenced that DNA, _someone_ got access to my files.”

The look on Jason’s face grew cold, and a brief glance about the room showed varying levels of concern on everyone else’s faces. “No, it wasn’t Zeus,” Percy all but whispered. “It was a girl. I eventually found out who was helping me with Bessie all along. Her name was Annabeth, she told me, and she _showed_ me what she had found in Bessie’s DNA.”

The door to the bridge hissed open and a cart loaded with a proper set of biological laboratory apparatuses hovered into the room. Percy untangled his fingers from Jason’s and pushed the older man to the side.

Percy reached for a glass slide and put it in his lap. He bit into his thumb hard enough to draw blood, and he smeared a single drop of it onto the slide. Scipio walked over to the microscope, touched it briefly, and then flung a glimmering holographic sphere on the far wall.

The sphere turned into a screen that showed everything under the microscope’s purview and even turned a delightful shade of crimson when Percy mounted the slide under the objective lens. “I’m not as innocent and naïve as you all might think I am.” A twinge of pink crept into Jason’s face. “I have my connections, too. Although, none of them are nearly as influential as you lot.”

Percy looked into the microscope and adjusted the focus until the individual blood cells filled up a large portion of the viewport. Among the red blood cells and the smaller platelets were metallic objects of two distinct types. Some of them were shaped like a teardrop. They were standard medical nanomachines that were probably left-over from when Will had performed a superficial rejuve on Percy. Those were irrelevant.

Some of the nanomachines, however, were hexagonal. They did not seem to have any mechanisms to propel themselves at all, and they were mostly flat save for an embossed circle in their middles. With a pair of tweezers, Percy pressed the circle and immediately, hitherto invisible designs on the hexagonal objects began to glow.

“Quick,” said Percy. He couldn’t help but pant as his temperature began to plummet. The machines were sucking out all the energy that they could from his body. He had no idea why the damn things had to broadcast at such high frequencies, but Annabeth had assured him it meant that no one would be looking for stray signals.

“Scipio,” Percy gasped. He held his arms to his chest, drawing the blanket tighter around his shoulders. He shivered. He felt cold. _So_ cold. “Please, scan me for any modulated radiation and pick up whatever you can. It’s going to be a couple million threads of data concurrently, so make sure you can piece them together.”

Jason approached Percy, concern clearly written on his face, but Percy shoved him away. Percy looked into the microscope and gave Scipio ten seconds to gather whatever data that he could. When the ten seconds was up, Percy shut off the nanomachine he had just touched and immediately, every other one returned to its original inert state.

“What the _hell_ did you just let him do, Grace?” said Admiral Ramirez, clearly distraught. Percy looked over his shoulder and saw the form of Scipio frozen in place and flickering.

Another screen appeared on the bridge of Scipio, and a woman appeared there. A silver circlet was wrapped around her brow, and curtains of golden hair framed either side of her face. Her eyes were an astonishing shade of grey, piercing and calculating even through the screen.

“Percy,” Annabeth breathed, as though there was no one else on the bridge of Scipio. “You are such a fucking idiot,” she hissed. Scipio jolted sideways. All lights on the bridge flickered off and then back on—except this time they were an angry red colour. A female robotic voice, the default onboard computer for when the A.I. was out of commission, spoke. _Unauthorized breach of security._ _Unauthorized breach of security._

Another screen appeared, though this one was very clearly a view from Scipio’s security camera. Women of all ages stepped from their strange angular ship into Scipio’s hangar. They were all dressed in sleek silver jumpsuits and they had plasma rifles strapped to their backs. Behind the first column of women, a group of four, bearing what seemed to be an A.I. core that was crackling with electricity strode down the ramp of the ship.

One of Scipio’s drones whirred and clicked as it made its way to the platform that Percy was currently on. It projected an avatar in shimmering silver, although this one was clearly Annabeth. The avatar walked over to where the Admiral was clutching the railing, teeth clenched. “You do not need to w—”

“Don’t tell me that I don’t fucking need to worry,” said Reyna. She pointed at another screen that had come up, one that was showing the head of the column of women that had marched aboard Scipio. There were two women clearly in the lead, linked arm in arm. “I want to know what the fuck my sister is doing on this ship.”

Percy looked at Jason and saw the colour immediately leave his face. Jason turned from Percy to the screens behind him and gasped. “What is _my_ sister doing here?” he said. “They were on ARKIV.” A chill ran down Percy’s spine. What the fuck was going on? ARKIV had not been scheduled to depart from Solar System orbit until ARKIII had reported that C-Vita Lyrae was stable and habitable.

Annabeth waved off the questions. “As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted,” she said, “There is no need to worry about the A.I. core. We are bringing Adonis onboard Scipio because Scipio was not built to process such a dense amount of data.”

“Hylla and Thalia will explain all to you, but for the moment, I would welcome Scipio back into the world of the living.” Everyone turned to face the A.I. and saw the golden-purple man standing bashfully right next to basically a naked greek god. “Hades, the files will be sent aboard Erebos now that they have been decompiled.” The comlink with Erebos was instantly terminated. “This meeting will be reconvened when everyone has had a chance to settle in and a proper debriefing has occurred.”

The schematic for a large but sleek ship appeared across the surface of the sphere that housed Scipio’s bridge. “For now, Admiral Ramirez, I would call your crew to battle positions. There are seven TITAN Shadowlances approaching your ship in full cloaked mode. You will not get a visual on them until they leave the shadow of C-Vita Lyrae, and I suggest you prepare as much as you can while they are in transit. They will arrive within the next three hours.”

Annabeth’s avatar turned to Percy and Jason. “Doctor Grace,” said Annabeth. She gestured at Percy and the way that he was shivering, “Please, take Percy somewhere safe. He needs to recover before we proceed, and better he is with someone that cares for him while we engage the enemy.”

Annabeth turned back to Admiral Ramirez and with a gesture called up a map of the surface of C-Vita Lyrae and the space around it. Whatever she said beyond the fact that there were surface-to-orbit missiles being moved into position was lost on Percy.

In a matter of moments, everything had been turned upside down and Percy felt like a kicked anthill inside. Not a kicked ant—a kicked anthill in its entirety. The only thing that kept Percy from passing out was the warm and gentle grip that Jason had on his shoulder while he was wheeled out of Scipio’s bridge.

\----------

Percy was jolted awake by a loud bang and a _very_ intense vibration through Scipio’s reinforced hull. He felt the entire ship shake, and the hairs on the back of his head stood on end in the low-pitched thrum that reverberated in the room. Percy wondered, idly, if Scipio had just fired the utterly colossal particle beam cannon that was mounted on its bow.

When Percy tried to blearily wipe the sleep from his eyes, he realized that he didn’t feel _cold_ anymore. In fact, he felt rather warm and _cozy_ despite the impacts that intermittently rocked Scipio’s hull. He looked down and saw, much to his surprise, two arms wound around his waist, lightly furred with near-translucent blond hair.

Percy didn’t dare look over his shoulder but he could very clearly feel the ghosting of warm breath over the curve of his neck. He realized, rather shockingly, that he didn’t feel creeped out at all by the proximity. In fact, he was about to snuggle deeper into the embrace when he realized that not only was _he_ naked, but that whoever was holding him was, too.

“Oh,” said Jason, as the arms unwound from around Percy’s waist. “I didn’t realize you were awake.” Percy looked over his shoulder into deep blue eyes and cheeks tinged with pink. “I’m sorry for being indecent,” said Jason.

“It’s just… When the attack hit, Scipio had to divert a lot of the ship’s power to the shields and the weapons. The life support systems are working on minimum right now, and it’s somewhat chilly.” Percy wanted _so badly_ to tap Jason on the cheek and tell him that he was rambling, but he didn’t feel like doing that to his _boss._ “You looked _so_ cold, and I couldn’t get you in a jumpsuit, so I decided to do the next best thing and share _my_ body warmth with you.”

“I-I can leave if you want me to,” said Jason, stammering the words out. It was the last thing that Percy had expected. From the confident, self-sure face that Jason put out into the world, Percy would have never expected the man to be shy in the bedroom.

Percy shook his head and turned around. He grunted in pain as the weight of his entire upper body came to a rest on his injured shoulder. He looked Jason in the eye, heart hammering in his chest. “What happened in the breakroom?” he said, unable to believe that he was about to say what he was about to say, “Was that really all just an act?”

Confusion, and then momentary hurt, flashed across Jason’s eyes. “What do you mean, Percy?” he said.

“All of it,” said Percy. “Was all of it just an act to not arouse suspicion? So that you could get me alone to talk to me about Bessie?”

Jason shook his head and tightened his arms around Percy. He pulled the two of them closer together. “Me accosting you in the break room, yes. That was an act. I needed video evidence that you weren’t involved in any secret dealings, but more than that, I would never dream of stepping over boundaries like that.”

Jason bit his lower lip, and Percy honestly thought it was adorable. Silver strands of hair be damned, Jason was cute for his age. “But the way that my body reacted to yours,” said Jason, more pink creeping into his cheeks. “You can’t fake something like that. That was _very_ real.”

Percy couldn’t help but smile to himself. He took his one good hand and pressed it against Jason’s chest, surprised to find it covered with near-invisible fuzz. “You said you woudn’t ever step over boundaries like that,” said Percy. “But what if I had given my consent? My _enthusiastic_ consent? Would you do it again?”

Silence fell upon the two of them as Percy explored Jason’s body with the tips of his fingers. He would have never guessed that a company president, especially one as prominent as Jason, would have the time to dedicate to maintaining such a beautiful body. “I don’t know, Percy,” said Jason.

“I heard from Will that you had someone once,” said Percy. “I know you shot him today. For me.” Percy shivered, fingers curling into a fist against Jason’s chest. “Do you still love him? Is that why you wouldn’t?”

“No,” said Jason. The laugh that he forced was a bitter one. “Gods, no. I’ve moved on from Luke. I knew that the next time I saw him again, it wouldn’t be pretty.” Jason shook his head and removed one of his arms from around Percy. He covered Percy’s fist on his chest with his significantly larger hand. “It’s just…” Jason took a deep breath. “I’m afraid to love again.”

A moment of silence stretched between them, shattered, in the end, by the particle cannon being fired a second time. “I’m sorry, Percy,” said Jason, pulling away from Percy. “I shouldn’t have done this. It was inappropriate for me to touch you without asking you if you wanted me to.”

Percy shook his head and grabbed Jason’s arm just as Jason was about to rise from the bed. “No, Jason,” said Percy. Their eyes met just as another dull boom rocked Scipio. “Please, stay. I’m afraid, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 9, my friends. :3.
> 
> The bombs are beginning to drop. *cackles evilly* How did you like the entrance of the Hunters? Where do you think the story is headed, now that Percy has asked Jason to stay? :3.
> 
> *cackles* Anyway, leave a kudos if you like the story so far, and a comment would be much appreciated. <3.


	10. Vulnerable

Percy’s words gave Jason pause. His body was half-off, half-on the bed. The sheet had fallen just enough that his torso was bare to the elements, but it had pooled around his waist. It had also shifted so that from Jason’s point of view, he had a good view of Percy’s lithe musculature.

Jason had always preferred men younger than him, especially when they were slightly innocent. His dick twitched against his leg when he thought about how he _delighted_ in the way that his more inexperienced partners often just let slip the word ‘ _daddy._ ’ He shivered.

Luke Castellan had been the one exception to that. He had loved hearing Luke say ‘ _daddy_ ’ just as much, but he had looked forward to a life _with_ Luke. The boy had been fifteen years younger than him—in the physical sense, at least. He had never really bothered to ask after Luke’s actual age, so enraptured in the young man’s charm as he was. Although, now that he knew Luke had been turned against him, he could only imagine that his ex-fiancé had been _genuinely_ young.

Despite knowing the boy—and Reyna was right, Jason had to stop kidding himself, Percy was just that—for barely a day, Jason was feeling familiar stirrings in his chest. Looking at the way that Percy bit his lower lip, as though afraid he had said the wrong thing, made Jason’s heart skip a beat. Perhaps Luke Castellan would not be the _only_ exception. Perhaps, given time, he would begin to look forward to a life with Percy, too. Only, that was never going to be a possibility for as long as Zeus still drew breath.

Jason placed his hand on Percy’s—the one that was on his arm. His ears, somewhat enhanced, picked up the adorably brief and sharp breath that Percy took. He saw the subtle widening of Percy’s eyes, and the flush that crept not only up Percy’s neck but also down and over his shoulders.

“Alright,” said Jason, unable to help the smile that danced on the corners of his lips. “Alright,” he said again. He slid into the bed beside Percy and drew the sheets up to about their necks. It was cold, he had to admit, and he was glad to have Percy to share body heat with.

An involuntary low-pitched whine met Jason’s ears as he wrapped his arms around Percy and pulled the two of them closer together. “That cold?” said Jason, with a smirk. Percy looked up at him, eyes wide at first, and then narrowed into a glare.

“Just kidding,” said Jason. He wanted so badly to cup Percy’s ass with his hands as the younger man nuzzled into his neck. Another boom rocked Scipio, though no alarms were going off. Jason wasn’t so sure that was necessarily a good thing, but he decided to stay quiet about it.

“It’s alright,” said Jason, when he noticed Percy shaking. “We can be afraid together,” he said. Had Percy been anyone else, the words might not have meant anything, but Jason realized that he _actually_ meant them. He _really_ was afraid, too.

Jason brought his hands to Percy’s back and rubbed slow, comforting circles in the soft skin there. “What are you afraid of?” said Jason. Percy’s arms wound around his neck and tightened as another boom—this one louder than the last—shook the entire room.

“I’m not afraid _of_ anything,” said Percy. Jason could tell the answer was a begrudging one, especially after the soft gasp that left Percy when another explosion made the hull vibrate. The arms around his neck loosened, though the muscles remained equally as tense. “I’m afraid _for_ everyone,” said Percy.

When Jason looked into Percy’s eyes, his heart almost stopped in his chest. He hadn’t taken the time to properly examine them, but now that he was so close, he could see that they were as green as the seas were. During his time on earth, the oceans had been dirty, their colours muddied. Computers showed Jason what had once been, and looking into Percy’s eyes, he felt as though he was looking at the real thing.

Jason pulled Percy closer, arms wrapping around the younger man even more tightly. The boy was precious. Even more reason to protect him.

Percy pushed away, slightly. At first Jason felt a twinge of guilt and hurt, but it seemed that Percy just wanted to look him in the eye as they talked. “W-when I found out about the strange DNA sequences in Bessie, I kept it to myself. I never accessed the data on a networked computer.”

Jason felt the tremor that tore through Percy’s comparatively-petite frame. Another low boom. “He still found out, _somehow._ ” Jason’s blood ran cold in his veins. There was no other person that Percy would talk about in such hushed tones, as laced with anger as they were.

“When I went to my office that day, there were people going through my stuff. And Zeus was there, standing like he had known I was coming all along.” Jason’s heart constricted in his chest. He could almost imagine the scene, could almost feel the fear that must have sank into Percy at the sight of the madman that headed the Hellenes.

“He just looked at me,” said Percy. “He said it was a routine inspection.” Percy shivered again and Jason couldn’t help but pull him closer. “It was obviously a lie. Why would he have two armed guards looking through my shit if it was just a routine inspection?”

Jason let himself chuckle, and even Percy did, too. Percy was clearly remembering terrible memories, but Jason had to admire the way that Percy still managed to smile. “He said I had nothing to worry about—as long as I had nothing to hide.”

“I went right home that day,” said Percy. “The door was completely kicked off its hinges. My personal computer—that had all the data—was on the floor, shot through. I managed to look at it, and it was completely wiped. Someone tried to brute force it and Annabeth’s program had destroyed all of our work.”

Jason held Percy tight as Percy’s shoulders began to tremble. He could feel the sobs building, the tensing of the muscles. He could feel fists being made at his shoulders, the arms braced against his chest pressing harder into it. “All I had left from mom was a hastily scribbled note that said she had gone into hiding and that Gabe was dead.”

“Are you afraid you’re going to lose someone?” said Jason, in as soothing a voice as he could manage. He tucked a stray lock of hair behind Percy’s ear and pressed a kiss to the younger man’s temple.

“No,” Percy whispered, snuggling deeper into Jason’s chest. “I’m afraid of not being able to do anything all over again.” Percy’s voice broke. A sob made its way through the tough walls that Percy had been struggling to keep up. “I thought that maybe if I had you on my side that we could get Bessie out of there as soon as we can, but now…”

Jason felt something warm and wet drip onto his chest. He looked at Percy and saw tears streaming out of the corners of those eyes. “Everyone’s out there, fighting a battle,” Percy sniffled. “I don’t even know how to pilot a fighter drone. What can I do?”

Jason grimaced when Percy’s fingers dug into his shoulders. “The best thing I could come up with to get Bessie out of the Hellene Group was to curry favour with you so you could speak for me. I depended on _someone else_ because _I_ couldn’t do anything.”

Another sob wracked Percy’s body, and all Jason could do was shush him. “Don’t worry,” Jason whispered in Percy’s ear. “You want to be able to do something? Help them crack whatever is in Bessie’s DNA.” Jason rubbed Percy’s back. “You’ll be saving a whole lot of people if you can do that.”

“And besides,” said Jason, pulling away from Percy to look into Percy’s eyes. “Besides, we can make a fighter out of you, yet.” Jason smiled at the way that Percy’s eyes seemed to light up. “Reyna is one hell of a good teacher.”

“Granted,” said Jason, with a nonchalant shrug. He remembered when he had asked Reyna to train him. He had _never_ had an aptitude for fighting before then, and he had _always_ come home somewhat battered and bruised. “Training with Reyna might hurt, but I think that as long as you keep the reason you fight close to your chest, you’ll survive it.”

“You would really talk to her for me?” said Percy, voice low but enthusiastic all the same. Jason felt a warm tingling in his chest. He wiped away Percy’s tears with his thumbs.

“No,” said Jason. Percy’s face fell. “I won’t talk to her about training you. That just wouldn’t be right.” Jason could practically feel the anger coming from Percy. He half-expected to get punched, from the way that Percy’s entire body seemed to tense. “But, I can definitely tell her that you’re interested in learning from her.”

“She gets to decide whether she wants to take you on as a student or not,” said Jason. He pulled Percy to him again. “And the only way you’ll have a chance is if _you_ approach her yourself. That’s the only way you’re going to show her you’ve got the spine to take what she’s going to throw at you.”

Percy sighed against Jason’s chest. Percy’s entire body went limp, but Jason just held him tighter. “When I was about as young as you are, Reyna and I were eating lunch and I kind of just let it slip that I wanted to learn how to fight…”

Percy looked up at Jason, sea-green eyes sparkling in the light of the room—which dimmed after another explosion rocked Scipio. “What happened?” Percy asked.

Jason chuckled. “She got up, picked up her tray, smacked me across the face with it and told me to actually man up and tell her that I wanted to learn how to fight instead of trying to treat her like one of my pet business projects.”

Percy giggled, the sound adorable to Jason’s ears. His dick twitched against his leg, but he tried his best to ignore it. “Well,” said Percy, “did you?”

Jason shrugged, nonchalantly. “Well,” he said, trailing off. “Eventually, I did. But it took me until we were departing from Earth on ARKIII to do it.” Jason looked at Percy and found an expectant look. “Well, the next thing she did was beat the shit out of me and send me to med bay. Apparently it was to motivate me to do better in her lessons.”

“Did it work?” said Percy.

“Eeeh…” Jason averted his eyes as a tinge of pink crept into his cheeks. “A little?” Percy giggled again. “Well, let’s just say that the next session, instead of defending myself, I started running away from Reyna and things didn’t end prettily.”

The room shook with another blast, but this one knocked out the lights. Jason felt Percy’s arms wrap around his neck. He also heard the soft gasp of surprise that followed.

The thrum of Scipio’s engines fell silent. The moment stretched on and on and on, seemingly without end. Jason could feel Percy shaking against his chest and decided that maybe, just maybe, they could both use a distraction from whatever was going on outside.

“You know,” Jason whispered in the darkness. “I think it’s adorable when you giggle.”

Jason felt a punch land on his shoulder. It wasn’t particularly hard or meant to hurt, but he definitely _felt_ it. “I do _not_ giggle,” said Percy, indignantly. “And I am _not_ adorable.” Jason felt Percy’s arm return around his neck and felt them tighten. “I’m _very_ manly,_” said Percy.

“Stop me if you ever feel uncomfortable, okay,” said Jason, as he let one of his hands wander down Percy’s lean but well-defined chest and stomach. He traced his fingers over the taut skin and muscles, noting in his mind every part that made Percy squirm ever so slightly.

“So, my _manly man,_ ” said Jason, hand drifting ever lower in the darkness. “Tell me, can you _take_ it like a man?” Jason could feel Percy’s breathing grow shallow against his neck. He had come to Percy’s belly-button, and he was deliciously near to his prize.

“I can _give_ it like a man,” said Percy, through gritted teeth. A gasp and a moan were all that Jason heard from Percy when he took his other hand and used it to cup a pert little buttcheek. “What are you doing?” Percy hissed, after a few moments. “Why are you doing this? What if Scipio’s about to explode?”

Jason chuckled and brought his face close to Percy’s. He could feel Percy’s warm breath wafting over his cheek. “Because,” he whispered, in Percy’s ear, “I think that you and I both need a distraction. If there are no alarms, then there is no trouble. Scipio might just be using all of the ship’s power for other things.”

Jason bit his lip. Percy’s legs parted ever so slightly when he massaged Percy’s ass. There was also an unmistakeable shiver of pleasure through Percy’s body when he pressed a finger to the puckered entrance that hid in the cleft of Percy’s butt. His other hand sought out Percy’s treasure trail and elicited a gasp from the boy’s soft lips. “Do you want me to stop?” he said, tone both teasing and sincere.

Jason traced the gentle curve of Percy’s cock with the tips of his fingers, felt it twitch and pulse against his touch. “G-gods,” Percy gasped. Jason lightly curled his fingers around the crown of Percy’s cock and stroked the head with his thumb. “D-don’t stop,” said Percy.

Jason closed his eyes as he gently stroked Percy’s sizeable—but, in comparison to his, relatively smaller—member. The darkness was both a boon and a curse. He could feel Percy’ writhing against him. He could feel Percy’s back arching, Percy’s legs flailing helplessly. This was, quite frankly, everything that Jason rather liked in a partner. It was only unfortunate that he couldn’t _see_ what he was sure was a rather adorable fluster on Percy’s face.

Jason pressed his cheek to Percy’s and breathed in the clean scent that drifted from him. It reminded him, almost, of saltwater. He pressed soft, fluttering kisses to Percy’s neck and jaw, relishing in the small sounds of pleasure that escaped the younger man. He decided, at that moment, that if everything between himself and Percy ended when Scipio’s lights came back on, he was glad to have at least spent this moment with the boy.

“Loosen up, Percy,” Jason drawled, lazily. He slowly moved the fingers circled around Percy’s shaft up and down. A low-pitched whine followed. “Just… enjoy this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter 10, guys! I'm sorry this is late, I was rather busy yesterday and didn't have the time to post this. :3.
> 
> So, anyway, how do you like it? The beginnings of the smut? *cackles evilly* ISN'T THE SLOW BURN EXCRUCIATINGLY SLOW? ISN'T IT WONDERFUL? BUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.


	11. Daddy

All the sounds that Percy made while Jason teased him were simply adorable. _That_ was what Jason had decided in the last half-minute. The low-pitched whines and the soft wanton moans that Percy thought Jason couldn’t hear were just endearing, and despite himself, Jason wanted _more._

When he and Jason had been together, Luke had been sensitive and rather receptive, but even Luke’s whimpers couldn’t hold a candle to Percy’s. Jason couldn’t stop; he took full advantage. He helped himself to Percy’s body, sampling it, tasting every inch he could get his mouth on.

Jason honestly couldn’t tell when the explosions stopped, or if they _had_ at all. He was too invested, too enchanted by the shivers that travelled up Percy’s frame whenever he spent a little bit too long rubbing the frenulum of Percy’s cock. “I don’t know if anyone’s told you this,” Jason whispered, when he felt hot tears splash against his shoulders, “but everything you do is sweet. Even this.”

Percy cried out, as Jason swirled his thumb around the pre-come slicked glans of the younger man’s dick. The strangled yelp trailed off into a series of whimpers followed by even more tears. Jason removed his hand from Percy’s butt and rubbed the tears away with his thumb. “Why are you crying?” he said, his other hand drifting up from Percy’s member to cradle the boy’s face.

“Because,” Percy whimpered. Jason felt hips involuntarily buck against him. A stiff member slid up against his own, the shiver of pleasure that he felt was followed by a gasp not his own. “E-everything I know says t-this is wrong…” Jason felt his chest clench. “But I _want_ this so badly.”

Jason gently stroked the side of Percy’s face as he let his other hand wander back down the curve of Percy’s back. As his fingers ghosted lightly over the soft skin, he could feel the arch of Percy’s spine grow more and more pronounced.

“Didn’t you say that you want to be able to do more?” Percy pressed his face to the crook of Jason’s neck. Jason could feel the warmth of Percy’s cheeks and could only surmise that the younger man was blushing furiously. “Don’t you want to take control of your life?”

Jason felt a shiver tear through Percy as he gently thumbed the triangle of skin that rested between Percy’s lower back and butt cheeks. He could feel Percy’s coccyx prominently there, and he realized for the first time that Percy might not just be slender, but actually underweight.

Percy nodded against Jason’s neck, involuntarily nuzzling into the curve of it as Jason rubbed the spot just above his tailbone. “Why not take this as your first step?” Jason said, softly, into Percy’s ear. “Tell the world to fuck off and that Percy Jackson sleeps with whomever he wants to sleep with.”

There was silence, for a few moments, broken only intermittently by sniffling and the occasional groan when Jason’s fingers dipped a little bit too deeply into the cleft of Percy’s ass. Jason couldn’t help but chuckle in surprise when he felt shy kisses being pressed to his collarbone. “That’s it,” he said in as soothing a voice as he could manage.

“Just forget about what others think is right and wrong,” said Jason. The hand that had been cradling Percy’s face, that had moved to Percy’s shoulder, clambered down Percy’s lean sides. “Find what you want and, if you’re not going to hurt anyone doing it, _take_ what you want.”

Jason was hard, terribly hard, and the soft whimper that followed when his fingers found purchase on Percy’s cock only made him throb. Slowly, ever so slowly, he started to stroke Percy up and down. His fingers never strayed too far from the head, which he kept teasing with his thumb, but they followed the gentle upward curve of the younger man’s member.

“Beautiful,” Jason said under his breath. He hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but it had come out, anyway. Besides, he didn’t think there was any harm done by saying that Percy was beautiful. It certainly seemed to help, when he felt teeth graze the skin of his shoulder after a soft whimper of pleasure. He stroked Percy again, squeezing Percy’s dick between his fingers. Percy nipped at him in what Jason could only hope was a playful manner.

Deft slender hands traced the shape of Jason’s shoulders. They followed the curves of the muscles, almost as though they were cataloguing them. Fingers lightly played across the skin of his neck, and then up along the line of his jaw.

Jason would have caught those fingers in his own as they made their way up the sides of his face to tangle in his hair, but when he tried to let go of Percy, he was met with a disgruntled huff.

The sudden change of pace—of attitude—was a welcome one. As time went on, and as Jason’s hands grew more and more slick with Percy’s pre-come, the hands that were exploring his head became emboldened. Percy was beginning to assert himself. Jason felt fingers on his scalp, then his forehead, then over his eyes.

One finger strayed close to Jason’s lips. He kissed that one, and then gave it a playful nibble. The response was unexpected. He felt Percy tense and then shudder. A low groan—musical, to Jason’s ears—slipped from Percy’s lips. He removed his fingers from Percy’s cock just in time to feel it pulse but not spew. “Tut-tut,” said Jason, gently tapping the crown of Percy’s dick with his finger. “Let’s not hurry,” he said.

The yowl that followed, when next Jason darted forward and caught the lobe of Percy’s ear between his teeth, almost drove Jason to the edge. He could feel the leg that Percy had thrown over him at some point in the recent past—he wasn’t sure when—stiffen, toes curling in pleasure.

Jason gave Percy’s ear another nibble, one that was once again satisfactorily answered with a whine. Jason thrust his hips up at Percy, bringing his own heavy member near Percy’s. He let Percy’s smooth balls rest on top of his cock head for a moment, and then rubbed their two manhoods together.

Percy let out a strangled yelp of surprise. Jason could only imagine it was because Percy had not expected him to be so big. “Like what you feel?” said Jason, wrapping his fingers around their cocks.

“Y-you’re so big,” Percy whimpered. Jason could almost hear the desperation and the thinly-veiled _want_ in Percy’s voice. He took one of Percy’s hands, the one that had been idly rubbing his shoulder, and placed it on his chest.

Immediately, Jason felt slender fingers exploring every crevice of his sculpted abdomen. He felt fingers so much more accustomed to handling sensitive specimens under a microscope go to work _feeling_ every inch of him. He bit back a groan as his nipples were tweaked, and a palm was dragged through the light smattering of hair in the centre of his chest.

The hand wandered further down, pressing against Jason’s well-defined abdominal muscles. Fingers found their way into the grooves between them, and then into the V that led straight to Jason’s groin. A thumb and an index finger plucked at his treasure trail, but instead of pain, it sent shivers of pleasure down Jason’s hardness.

Jason removed his fingers from their shared erections and let Percy try to stroke them. Percy’s fingers barely encircled their combined girths, but the boy managed to make it work. One upward stroke was all it took for Jason to feel Percy’s legs trembling, quivering.

Jason cupped Percy’s ass with the palm of his hand and tweaked Percy’s quivering entrance with his index finger. The boy gasped and pressed his hips back, inviting the pad of Jason’s finger inside of him. Percy whimpered. His hips snapped forward, but not before the fingers of Jason’s other hand wrapped around Percy’s. He squeezed their manhoods tight just as Percy’s thrust made them slide against each other.

A high-pitched whimper was all that Jason heard, but the pleasure in it wasn’t lost on him. He didn’t move from where he lay, letting his hands do all the hard work. It wasn’t hard to tell that Percy liked the pressure on his ass. Every circle that Jason traced around Percy’s twitching hole was met with a shiver of pleasure and a clenching of cheeks. It was no secret, either, that Percy loved feeling their dicks slide together, judging from how hard he was trying to thrust into Jason’s hand without pushing back.

Jason pressed his lips to Percy’s as he stroked their cocks in tandem. Percy whined into his mouth, but he simply caught Percy’s lower lip between his teeth. Jason wriggled his finger against Percy’s hole and groaned when Percy opened up for him.

With every up-and-down stroke, Percy whimpered into Jason’s mouth. By the time that Jason was struggling to keep himself from going over the edge, Percy was wantonly pushing back on his finger and thrusting into his hand. It was almost too much, but Jason rather liked priding himself on his stamina and he wasn’t about to let himself come before Percy did.

Jason pulled away from Percy and pressed kisses to the curve of Percy’s jaw. Every stroke sent a shiver up his own spine, but every stroke also made Percy writhe against him.

“D-da—Jason!” The strangled cry came just as Jason felt Percy’s cock pulse and swell against his. He let go immediately and relished the frustrated whimper that followed.

“Come on,” said Jason. He traced his fingers, teasingly, up the gentle curve of the underside of Percy’s cock. “You can say it.” Percy groaned and bit into his shoulder. “Tell me what you want, Percy.”

“D-da—No. I-I can’t.” Percy gasped when Jason rubbed his thumb over the sensitive glans of Percy’s dick. He gently pressed at the slit that was liberally leaking pre-come. “Jason, please,” he whined.

Jason nibbled on Percy’s ear. “I would _love_ to hear you say it, Percy,” he whispered.

“F-fuck!” Percy let go a strangled yelp as Jason pressed his finger deeper into Percy. Percy whimpered as it was wriggled around inside of him. “P-please, _daddy,_ ” Percy said. Jason wrapped his fingers around Percy’s shaft. “Please, daddy, I want to cum!”

“I love it when you call me that,” Jason drawled in Percy’s ear. He tightened his grip around Percy’s erection, eliciting a gasp from those soft lips that were sure to be bruised by now. Jason pumped his hand up and down, squeezing intermittently to the sound of Percy’s desperate whimpers. “Good boy,” he cooed. “Come for me.”

“N-no,” Percy gasped. “I-I can’t do this,” he said. Jason felt a pang of fear in his heart as Percy struggled to push away from him, but he held Percy close. Jason didn’t want to scare Percy away. As he held on to Percy, he silently cursed himself for his lack of self-control.

“No,” Jason said, firmly. “Enjoy this, Percy,” he said. “You don’t have to do the whole daddy thing if you don’t want to.” He felt Percy shiver at the word. “If you aren’t ready _yet._ ” He quickened his stroking of Percy’s cock, drinking in the pretty sounds that the boy made. “But come for me. Enjoy this.”

Jason removed his finger from Percy’s entrance and pressed his free hand to Percy’s stomach. “Jason!” Percy screamed, legs flailing as he tried to thrust into the merciless stroking. Jason felt the muscles grow taut under his hands, felt Percy’s arms around him tighten. “I-I’m coming!” Percy shouted. Jason felt the first spurt of hot come splash against his hand, but he didn’t stop stroking, he pumped his hand faster and faster.

“J-Jason!” Percy practically yelled. Jason felt fingers digging into the flesh of his back, nails clawing at his shoulder blades. Percy’s abdomen expanded and contracted as he gasped. Percy’s cock swelled and spurted in his hands, the flow of come seemingly endless. “Jason, please,” Percy panted, when at last the orgasm subsided.

Jason stopped and let go of Percy’s cock. He could feel slick come on his chest and on his stomach. The sheer volume was rather impressive for one so young. “You did so well,” said Jason. “So well.”

Jason scooped up come from his chest with two fingers. He held it up to his lips and tasted it. Sweet. Salty. Fresh. Just the way he liked it. He slurped up the come and cleaned himself of it. He didn’t swallow it.

Jason pulled Percy toward him and kissed the boy. Percy moaned at first. Jason suspected it was because the taste of his own come was foreign to him, but as soon as Percy realized what it was, he squirmed against Jason and pulled away. “Don’t like your taste?” said Jason, fingers fumbling around in the dark as he reached up to stroke Percy’s cheek.

“N-no…” said Percy. The embarrassment on the boy’s voice was almost palpable in the air. “I-I want to taste you,” said Percy. The words came slowly. The phrase was halting and almost reluctant.

And then, Percy spoke bashfully, quietly, so softly that Jason would not have heard him if not for the utter silence that was wrapped around the two of them. “Da—” said Percy, followed by a deep and resigned sigh. “Daddy.”

Jason had to resist the urge to grab Percy, flip the Percy over, and have his way with him. Fuck. The way that Percy said _that_ word made him crazy. He was sure that given enough time, Percy could make him come just saying that word. “Well,” said Jason, voice both sultry and strained from the self-control he was exerting, “I haven’t come yet. Would you like it straight from the tap?”

Immediately, Jason could feel Percy’s cheeks warm underneath his fingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this chapter being late, guys. xD. I have found myself growing increasingly busy, and I can't even seem to manage the time to post the chapters that I had _already_ written.
> 
> Anyway, what did you guys think of this chapter? :3. I, for one, particularly love it. Hehe. Smuuuut. Anyway...
> 
> Yeah, leave a comment if you want to brighten my day and leave a kudos if you like the story so far! :D.


	12. Sugar

Percy’s hands had clung to Jason’s shoulders the moment he came, but now, Jason could feel them falling away. One of them found its way down Jason’s chest, creeping down toward his groin. The hand traced over the ridges of his muscles, fingers splaying over his midriff. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Jason felt Percy’s slender fingers wrap around the heavy girth of his cock.

“F-fuck,” Percy said, under his breath. A soft, adorable, nervous laugh bubbled from those lips. The tension that Jason had felt in Percy’s frame earlier melted away under his fingers as he massaged the boy’s shoulders. “I-I don’t think I’ve ever felt one this big before,” Percy whispered, in the darkness.

Jason brought one of his hands down Percy’s side, drawing his fingers teasingly over the supple skin of Percy’s pert butt. He reached around and stroked the curve of Percy’s still-hard dick with the pads of his fingers. “I don’t suppose you’ve had a lot of experience in that regard, then?” he said, teasingly.

A soft gasp slipped Percy’s lips. “G-gods,” the boy moaned. “That feels so good…” A whimper followed as Jason gently thumbed the sensitive glans. “I can’t say I’ve had a lot,” Percy managed, after a wordless few moments.

His voice low in the darkness, Jason said, “ _I’ve_ had a lot of experience.” A warm breath ghosted over his shoulder. The dick he loosely cradled in his fingers jumped.

“I’ve had a lot of men,” Jason drawled. He gently drew a single finger up the underside of Percy’s cock. He bit back the groan that threatened to spill when Percy squeezed his erection. “And let me tell you, _sweetness,_ ” said Jason, as he pressed a kiss to Percy’s cheek. “I’ve never had the pleasure of touching a cock this beautiful before.”

Jason felt Percy’s cheek grow hot against his lips. The hand around his cock twitched, and then tightened. He caught the lobe of Percy’s ear with his teeth and nibbled on it just as Percy’s hand began to pump him up and down. As Percy slid his foreskin over his glans, he moaned into Percy’s ear and felt the boy stiffen against him.

Jason’s other hand, the one that wasn’t busy teasing Percy’s cock, made its way down from Percy’s shoulder to Percy’s taut chest. Shivers followed the feather-light touches of his fingers, and a cry of pleasure came after he tweaked a noticeably-erect nipple.

The fact that Percy was _so_ sensitive was not lost on Jason. He suspected augmentations, but he doubted such was the case. Either way, he would’ve been lying if he said that he didn’t _love_ it.

“If you want to taste me,” said Jason, with a devious smirk that he was glad Percy couldn’t see in the darkness. He tapped the head of Percy’s cock, and then gently grabbed Percy’s wrist with the hand that had been teasing the boy’s member. “We should do this the right way,” he said.

Jason removed his one hand from Percy’s chest and felt around his back for the edge of the bed. He found it. “You want to suck my cock, boy?” said Jason, voice low and almost growling. He suspected he was going a little bit too far, like he had with the daddy stuff, but he wanted to find Percy’s present limits. “Only way you’re getting it is on your knees,” said Jason.

Jason felt Percy tense. He was afraid, for a moment, that Percy would push him away, but instead what he got in response was a low moan. He gently lowered one of his hands to Percy’s cock and found globs of pre-come leaking liberally from its tip. “I’ll take that as enthusiastic consent,” said Jason, as he brought his slicked thumb to his lips and savoured the salty-sweet taste of Percy.

“F-fuck,” Percy groaned. “C-can you just…” Jason shivered at the whimper that followed. “Just stop talking… You’re going to make me come.”

Jason lowered his voice on purpose, forcing a gravelly texture onto his words, “No,” he said. “Who do you think’s in charge here?” he said, biting back a moan when Percy whimpered, again. He stroked the sides of Percy’s cock, his fingers feather-light. He felt the rigid member pulse under his touch, but he knew that it wasn’t nearly enough to make Percy come.

“G-gods, Jason,” Percy panted.

Jason grabbed Percy with no pretense of gentleness. He let his fingers dig ever so slightly into the skin of Percy’s arms. He rolled Percy across the bed and over him. “Feel the edge of the bed?” he said.

“Y-yes, sir,” said Percy, voice trembling. The palpable anxiety in Percy’s voice only wicked away the restraint that Jason was struggling to hold on to.

“Get on the floor,” said Jason, his voice low and almost threatening, “and get on your knees. Keep your hands behind your back, and don’t you _dare_ jerk yourself off without my permission.”

A strangled whimper followed the forceful, authoritative words. “Gods, fuck,” said Percy. “I-if you keep talking like that, I-I’m telling you. I’m going to c-come.” Jason reached down between his legs and wrapped his index finger and thumb around Percy’s balls like a vice.

“Oh,” said Jason, voice even lower than before. Percy slowly clambered down the side of the bed at the sound of Jason’s voice. “You think you can do that without permission from me?” said Jason. “No.” Jason swung his legs over the side of the bed when he felt Percy’s weight leave it. “You don’t get to come unless I say so.”

Percy whimpered. “Show me where you are,” said Jason. “Find my knee and place your right hand on it.” Jason felt a tentative hand feeling along the edge of the bed for him. Eventually, slender fingers found their way onto his knee, trembling.

Jason spread his legs, allowed every part of him to hang loose over the edge of the bed. He took Percy’s hand on his knee and slowly drew it over the inner side of his thigh. “Get in position and put your hand behind your back,” he said.

The meek silence with which Percy seemed to follow his orders gave Jason a heady rush. He was high on the authority he was wielding over the boy, and as he threaded his fingers through the hair on the sides of Percy’s head, his cock dripped a glob of pre-come onto the floor.

Jason pulled Percy’s head toward him. He smiled at the rustling and the soft groans that followed as Percy struggled to follow. “Lick the head,” he commanded, bringing Percy’s head right between his legs. He hissed when he felt hot breath wafting over the head of his cock, then he groaned when he felt a tongue lick his piss-slit tentatively.

Jason felt pre-come spurt form the tip of his cock, followed by a hesitantly eager tongue that lapped it up. “That’s it, boy,” said Jason, pulling Percy’s head closer. The boy shuffled along the floor. “Lick the shaft.”

A tense moment followed Jason’s command, but Percy relented. Jason felt a wet warm tongue sliding across the sensitive skin of his dick. He pulled on Percy’s head, guiding the boy deeper into the V between his legs. Percy licked him the whole way down, making him shiver with pleasure each time the tongue slithered over and under his cock.

Much to his surprise, and without any goading from him, Jason felt Percy’s tongue lapping at his heavy balls. He bit back a gasp when Percy, instead of kissing his nuts, suckled on them.

“Good boy,” said Jason, through gritted teeth. He groaned once as that warm wetness slid over his sack. He expected more, but more didn’t come. He growled in frustration when he felt Percy trying to pull away.

“C-can you stop calling me that?” said Percy, stammering and timid.

“Calling you what?” said Jason. He took his cock in his hands and gave it a stroke or two, groaning as he did. He heard a soft whimper from Percy.

“Boy,” said Percy. Jason could almost imagine it, Percy looking bashfully at the ground, hands still behind his back, cock jutting out from between his legs. He could almost _feel_ the heat that was sure to be splashed across Percy’s cheeks and over the tips of Percy’s ears. It was delicious. “I’m not a boy anymore!”

Jason reached down between his legs, tentatively, until he found a chin that was surprisingly wet with tears. “Are you not?” said Jason. “Is that _really_ the reason you want me to stop calling you that?” Jason rubbed Percy’s cheek with his thumb, wiping away tears, “You forget. I was first generation on ARKIII. It took us three thousand years to get to Vita Lyrae.”

“No matter how old you get, compared to me, you will always be a boy.” Jason felt as though the words were cruel, but he could not take them back. Besides, they were the truth. “But that’s not why you want me to stop, is it?”

“No,” Percy muttered, meekly.

“What was that?” said Jason, tilting Percy’s head upward. Neither of them could actually see in the darkness, but there was an innate authority associated with the gesture that Jason was confident both of them understood.

“No, sir,” said Percy. Jason could feel Percy quivering. “I-I want you to stop because…” Percy took a deep breath and released it in a sigh that wafted over Jason’s cock and made it jump. “It… It turns me on so much and I don’t know if I like that… And… If you don’t stop, I might just come.”

“Then tell me,” said Jason. He scooped up pre-come from his cock and held it up to Percy’s lips. “Do you actually want me to stop? Or do you just want to make not coming easier?”

Percy’s tongue darted out to taste the fingers that Jason held up to his lips. Jason shivered as he felt Percy licking his fingers all over, and then eventually suckling on them. The sounds that Percy made while he slurped at Jason’s pre-come were simply _lewd._

“I’ll take that as no, you don’t want me to stop,” said Jason. The corners of his lips twitched upward in a smirk, one that he was somewhat frustrated Percy couldn’t see. “So guess what, boy,” said Jason. “You’re just going to have to practice self-control.”

Jason clamped his hands to either side of Percy’s head and pulled the boy back in. He pushed Percy down a little bit so that his balls could rest on the bridge of Percy’s nose. “Tell me, Percy,” Jason drawled, “how do I smell down there?”

“Clean,” Percy panted. Jason felt the boy sniffing, the vibrations sending shivers through his groin. “Musky. Manly. Gods.” Percy whimpered. “Gods. You smell so good.” Percy nuzzled his sack with abandon, nose buried in the space between his balls.

“You wanted to taste me, right?” said Jason, pulling Percy away from the space under his manhood. “Get to it, boy,” he said. He felt a tremor tear through Percy, and when he pulled Percy’s head toward his groin again, he felt no resistance.

“Open up, boy,” said Jason. “Suck.”

The command, it seemed, was all the encouragement that Percy needed. Jason, honestly, felt attacked in the best way possible. Without guidance from the hands grasping either side of his head, Percy opened his mouth and tried to take Jason in as far as he could.

It wasn’t very far. Percy was halfway down Jason’s shaft when he met his limit. He choked, briefly, and Jason let him pull away a little bit. Then, lazily, Jason thrust his hips forward and groaned at the feeling of the warm wetness of Percy’s mouth around his cock.

“You better not scratch me with your teeth,” Jason growled, as he slowly pushed his hips forward. He used his grip on Percy’s head for leverage and shoved as much of his length into Percy as he could. Percy, to his credit, licked the underside of Jason’s cock as it slid deeper, at least until the engorged head hit the back of his throat and he choked.

“Don’t you want to take all of me?” said Jason, goading the boy into trying to take more of his hardness. Percy whimpered around his cock, the sound followed by soft choking sounds that Jason ignored. In fact, feeling Percy’s throat spasm around the head of his cock only made Jason hornier and more desperate to teach the boy to deepthroat.

Jason pulled Percy off of his cock just as the lights flickered on. He was treated to the utterly delectable sight of Percy’s teary-eyes and red face. Percy coughed, spittle flying from his mouth. “Again,” said Jason, making no effort to hide the smirk on his face.

Percy whimpered, but didn’t resist. This time, Jason got another inch further into Percy’s throat before the gagging became too much. He let Percy go, and smiled when the boy obediently kept his hands behind his back. He looked down just in time to see Percy’s cock dripping pre-come onto the floor.

“Again,” Jason said, putting all the authority he could muster in his words. “This time, suck me like you mean it.” Percy looked up at him, eyes still teary, but complied.

Percy fell on Jason’s cock like it was the last meal he would ever have. With what almost seemed like a hungry desperation, Percy licked Jason’s cock, suckled it, savoured it like it was a precious treat. Jason moaned and groaned as Percy took him deeper and deeper.

“Look at me,” said Jason, when Percy started gagging again. Wide sea-green eyes turned up to look at him, and Jason nearly lost his load. “You’re so pretty with your lips wrapped around my cock, boy,” said Jason, nearly growling the words out. Percy whimpered around his cock. Jason involuntarily snapped his hips forward, burying Percy’s nose in his bush.

Percy gagged, again, but Jason saw something come alight in those eyes. He let go of Percy’s head and the boy pulled off of his cock for a moment, to recover. He looked at Percy. Percy looked at him. Then, Percy swallowed him to his root.

Percy choked on Jason’s length one more time, and had to retreat one more time. There was definitely determination in Percy’s eyes now, Jason thought to himself. Whatever else he was trying to formulate in his mind was blown to pieces when Percy practically inhaled his length again.

Jason could feel the come boiling in his balls, his abdomen contracting to get ready to spurt his seed. Jason pushed Percy off of his cock. “Open your mouth, boy,” said Jason, the words harsh and raw. He took his cock in his own hands and began to pump it. “Tongue out. That’s it.”

“Fuuuck,” Jason groaned. He squeezed his own nipple. “The things you do to me, boy,” he said. The first spurt came almost unexpectedly. Jason saw stars from the force of the orgasm, but he didn’t miss the way that the strand of come fell on Percy’s face and hair.

Another shot and then another and then another came. Each of them fell on Percy’s face like a perverted blessing from a lewd god. It took a while for Jason to come, the sheer volume of his semen was astonishing. Percy took it all, wordlessly.

By the time that Jason came to his senses, he looked down at the boy. He saw strands of his own come clinging to hair and eyelashes. He saw droplets of it dripping from Percy’s red cheeks to the floor under his knees. Percy’s eyes were closed as though he were in supplication, and frankly, Jason _loved_ that.

But perhaps the best part of the licentious image was the pool of come that had gathered on Percy’s tongue and the way that the boy was quivering. “Go ahead,” said Jason, pressing his fingers up against the underside of Percy’s chin, “It’s rude not to swallow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go! I HOPE YOU GUYS ARE HAPPY.
> 
> I HOPE THE SLOW BURN WAS WELL WORTH THE WAIT BECAUSE LET ME TELL YOU. THERE IS ANOTHER CHAPTER OF SMUT TO FOLLOW. *CACKLES EVILLY*


	13. Regrets

Jason waited for Percy to follow his orders. He watched the boy expectantly as the moments ticked by, waiting for those soft lips that had been wrapped around his cock to close and swallow his come. He felt a surge of anger when he realized that there was still some resistance in the boy.

Jason felt, in some small part of him, that he was going too far. However, truth was, the way that Percy quivered, cock dripping pre-come like a faucet, had already pushed him far beyond the point of no return. His earlier concerns about consent had been cast aside, and frankly, since Percy seemed to be so receptive, he didn’t think he needed to be concerned.

“Are you going to swallow, or not?” said Jason. There was a twinge of genuine disappointment to his voice along with impatience. Jason felt the boy tremble; the corners of his lips turned up in a self-satisfied smirk. His words had had the desired effect. “Do you need help with that?” said Jason. Slowly, abashedly, the rosy red colour on his cheeks brightening, Percy nodded. “Fine,” said Jason. “I’ll help.”

Percy sighed, shoulders slumping forward in visible relief, only to tense up again when Jason reached forward and pinched the boy’s nostrils shut. Percy struggled against Jason’s grip, but to no avail; Jason was simply too strong. He applied a gentle upward force on the bottom of Percy’s jaw. He watched with salacious glee as the boy struggled to breathe through his come-filled mouth.

The moments ticked on, Percy desperately trying to breathe without inhaling the seed on his tongue. Jason grinned as slowly, inexorably, Percy shut his mouth and swallowed. Jason shivered at the sound of the audible gulp, his eyes following the contraction of Percy’s throat downward.

“Open up, boy,” said Jason, gently tapping Percy’s cheek. The boy opened his mouth and took gasping breaths, whimpering with every other inhalation. “There’s more that you need to clean up,” said Jason. Percy groaned, and Jason watched with great interest as the boy’s cock jumped and dribbled pre-come on the floor.

Jason reached down and swirled his fingers around in the come and pre-come that had fallen onto the floor. He scooped up the come that had fallen on Percy’s thighs, too. He held up his fingers to Percy’s mouth and watched, rapt, as he let the slick concoction drip onto Percy’s tongue.

“Don’t swallow until I tell you to,” said Jason. He took the pathetic whimper that followed as a sound of affirmation. He raised his fingers to Percy’s face and scooped up all the come that he could from the boy’s cheeks, chin, and hair. He slipped his fingers back into Percy’s mouth and waited until the boy licked them clean.

Then, and only then, did Jason remove the come that had fallen over Percy’s eyes. He gently scooped up the slick white strands that clung to Percy’s eyelashes and fed them to the boy. “Open your eyes, boy,” he said.

Obediently, Percy did, his sea-green eyes glittering with tears. Jason removed his fingers from Percy’s nose. He leaned back for a few moments, examining the utterly depraved image of the boy that was on his knees in front of him. “You look so pretty like this, too,” said Jason, smiling as Percy desperately tried to gasp for air without swallowing what was on his tongue.

“Swallow,” said Jason, after a few moments more of examining his handiwork. “Do it like you mean it, this time.” Percy whimpered again, but didn’t resist, this time. Just as Percy was about to close his mouth, Jason clucked his tongue. “Oh,” said Jason, “I didn’t think I needed to tell you.” The red on Percy’s cheeks blossomed brighter. “Look me in the eye while you do it.” Meekly, the boy obeyed.

Jason watched, hungrily. His eyes were locked with Percy’s as the boy closed his mouth and swallowed. The gulp was audible in the silence, and Jason’s cock jumped at the sound. Percy whimpered, and though the effort at being inconspicuous was amusing, Jason clearly saw the boy lick his lips.

Clear fluid dripped from the tip of Jason’s cock as he watched Percy squirm where he knelt. The silence lengthened between the two of them, but Jason was perfectly comfortable. Moments later, a glassy look overtook Percy’s eyes, and the boy pitched forward.

Luckily, Jason was fast enough to catch Percy before Percy slammed face-first into the floor. The sudden catatonia would have broken the high of dominance that Jason had slipped into, except for the fact that it wasn’t exactly unexpected. The non-responsive state that followed eating Jason’s come had happened often enough to his numerous partners that he had become desensitized to it.

Some small part of Jason faintly remembered the first time that it had happened—as well as the shock that had followed. Whatever the case, that small part was all too easy to ignore. Jason supposed it was about time he got the courage to talk to Will and get to the bottom of why it kept happening, but for now, he wasn’t done with Percy just yet.

Jason held Percy against his thigh. He pulled Percy close to him and rested the boy’s nose against his groin. His cock, still hard, leaked pre-come onto Percy’s shoulder. He kept Percy there until finally, the boy started to return to him.

“Welcome back,” said Jason, as Percy’s eyes slowly cracked open. “Took you long enough, boy,” he said. There was still a dazed look in Percy’s eyes, a palpable sluggishness to the boy’s thoughts. “Are you ready to continue?” he said. “I’m not done with you yet.”

Jason tipped Percy’s chin upward. The boy’s eyes were glassy and unfocused. When Jason let go, Percy buried his nose in Jason’s bush and took in a deep shuddering breath. Percy’s eyes seemed to hone in on Jason’s throbbing shaft, and he tentatively extending his tongue to lick it. “I’ll take that as a yes,” said Jason, with a chuckle. “Tell me, boy,” said Jason, voice low and gravelly, “Have you ever been eaten out?”

Seconds ticked by in silence between Percy and Jason. When Percy finally turned his eyes upward, they were glazed and distant. Percy’s words were _slurred_ when they came out. “I-I’m not _that_ poor, sir,” said Percy, “I could afford to eat at restaurants when I wanted to…”

The part of Jason that found Percy’s state alarming was far too small, its voice too soft. The rest of him was inexplicably aroused by the sight. He found it excessively endearing.

“I didn’t ask if you had ever _eaten out,_ ” said Jason, a savage grin splitting his face as he stroked the sides of Percy’s face. The boy shivered against his leg and leaned into his touch. “I was asking if you had _been_ eaten out,” he said.

Again, it took some time before Percy managed a response. Jason could practically _hear_ the slow clicking of gears in the boy’s head. It was clear Percy was struggling to process the conversation, but that didn’t mean Jason was going to let Percy off the hook. Redness returned to Percy’s cheeks as he shook his head from side to side. The boy gave another desperate lick to the underside of Jason’s cock.

“No,” said Percy. He reached out with his tongue and suckled one of Jason’s balls. “No, sir,” he gasped, when the ball in his mouth fell away.

Jason reached down between his legs and pulled his cock away from Percy. The boy followed, seemingly on instinct. If Jason hadn’t known better, he would have thought Percy was enchanted by his cock. He pressed a hand to Percy’s forehead, to keep Percy away from his cock, and was rewarded with a high-pitched whine of protest.

Jason smirked. Caution tossed to the wind, he decided he was going to have fun with Percy’s current state. “Get on the bed, boy,” he said, with the most authoritative voice that he could manage.

Percy groaned, but he followed the instruction. Jason watched as Percy slowly clambered over him and onto the bed, cock bobbing up and down as he moved. Jason slapped the boy’s pert butt as it passed by him. “Hands and knees, boy,” he said, delivering a slap onto the other cheek.

Jason waited patiently for the shuffling to stop before he turned around. Unsurprisingly, Percy was there, on his hands and knees. The only problem was that Percy was swaying dangerously from side to side.

Jason swung his legs onto the bed, balancing himself on his knees as he made his way to Percy. He pressed a hand to the space between Percy’s shoulder blades. “Down, boy,” he said, as he applied a steady pressure on the spot. Percy did not resist. The boy followed Jason’s hand and its firm guidance until his chest was flush with the sheets, back arched to present his ass.

“Spread your legs,” said Jason. Percy did as he was told, shuffling his knees apart until his cheeks were parted just enough to show Jason his twitching pink hole. Jason licked his lips. He wondered how long it would take for him to make Percy to come with just his tongue.

Jason lowered himself between Percy’s legs. “So pretty,” he said, wafting warm breath over Percy’s most private entrance. It was somewhat puffy from the fingering he’d given it earlier, but that didn’t stop it from winking at him. “You know what I love more than the taste of come from a boy?” said Jason, slapping one of Percy’s butt cheeks hard enough to leave a red hand print. Percy yelped.

Jason extended his tongue and prodded Percy’s hole with the tip of it. Percy shivered and whined. “I love the taste of a boy’s hole,” said Jason. “Especially when it’s bare like yours.”

Jason swirled his tongue around Percy’s hairless pucker, smiling to himself as he felt Percy’s knees give way. The boy panted heavily, whimpering at what Jason was sure was a novel sensation. He loved the sweet, earthy, surprisingly clean taste. “You taste lovely, _sweetness,_ ” said Jason. He licked his lips and dove back in, wriggling his tongue against Percy’s entrance.

“S-sir,” Percy groaned, words still slurred. “Sir please… I need to come.”

Jason briefly considered prolonging Percy’s suffering. He was tempted; he really was. However, he didn’t really want to be too cruel to the boy in what was clearly Percy’s first time being a sub. Nor did he think, really, from the way Percy’s legs were trembling, that the boy would last much longer anyway.

Jason knew that whatever endurance Percy had would soon be irrelevant. “You will not come unless I tell you to,” said Jason, spanking Percy’s butt cheek as a reminder. The boy whimpered his agreement. Jason pulled the boy’s cheeks apart until the puckered entrance was fully exposed—unlike earlier.

Jason leaned down and breathed in the clean scent of Percy’s hole. He let his warm breath ghost over the boy’s most private entrance before he dove back in. He pointed his tongue right at the centre of the quivering hole and wriggled it into the boy when he had the chance.

Percy gasped and bucked his hips back onto Jason’s face. The older man was well prepared to receive it. Jason gripped Percy’s ass tightly, making sure that the boy could move no more than however much Jason wanted him to. His grip was the only thing that kept Percy’s ass in the air when Percy’s legs finally gave way.

Jason wriggled his tongue deeper into Percy as the boy opened up to him. Percy was practically screaming his name, pushing back and pulling forward in time with Jason’s tongue.

“P-please, Jason,” said Percy, whimpering and whining. From the sound of it, Jason could tell that the boy was near sobbing. “I-I can’t hold back… Please!” Percy screamed when Jason swirled his tongue around the inner ring of Percy’s hole, deeper than Jason usually got.

Jason pulled away briefly. “Say it,” he hissed. He slapped Percy’s butt cheek, leaving another red hand print. Percy whined. “Say it!” he demanded, before diving back in. Percy screamed again.

“Please let me come, d—” Percy choked on the word. Jason slapped him on the ass for encouragement. Jason swirled his tongue inside of Percy, turning the boy’s legs to jelly. “Please, daddy!” said Percy, a sob tearing through him. “Please daddy, let me come.”

Satisfied with what he’d managed to extract from Percy, Jason decided that it was time to end the boy’s torment. He gave Percy’s hole one last prod with his tongue before he straightened. He kept his hands on the cheeks of Percy’s ass, keeping the pink and tender hole exposed. He rested the head of his cock at the puckered entrance before he leaned forward and whispered, “Come for me, boy.”

With a shudder and a scream, Jason saw Percy’s entire body go tense. Percy’s entrance spasmed against the head of his cock for a few moments, and then, Percy went slack. Jason didn’t need to look between Percy’s legs to know that the boy had thoroughly soiled the sheets.

When Jason let go of Percy’s ass, the boy collapsed into a heap on top of the sheets. “Don’t think you’re done yet, boy,” said Jason, landing another spank on Percy’s pert butt. He liked the way the supple flesh jiggled at the impact. “Lick up your mess.”

\----------

Jason lay next to Percy. The boy had collapsed almost as soon as Jason had declared that they were done. He was trying his best to administer after-care, but it was difficult to do that well when guilt was threaded through every fibre of his consciousness.

Jason gently rubbed the boy’s shoulders. He couldn’t believe what he had just done. What the fuck had happened to him? It was almost like his body—and his mind, subsequently—had entirely forgotten that he was with the inexperienced _Percy,_ not _Octavian_ —who spouted the word “daddy” at him at every possible opportunity. The broken, intermittent sniffles that came from Percy’s side of the bed felt like daggers being stabbed into his chest and twisted.

Jason noticed a hissing, a buzzing in the back of his mind. They were like intrusive thoughts, incomprehensible whispers. He reached up to touch his temple, the neural link briefly blinking blue in the darkness.

Why Jason had ever agreed to the Neural Link was beyond him. Reyna had an annoying habit of putting everything she sent to Jason on urgent priority. This time, though, Jason was thankful for the temporary distraction. Reyna’s voice, clearly recorded, filtered in through his consciousness.

“Grace,” said Reyna. Jason could clearly hear the smirk in her voice. “Seems you’ve found yourself another Octavian,” she said. “I asked Scipio to keep an eye on you two. He sent me the audio-clip of Percy saying daddy, _daddy._ ” Reyna laughed. If only she knew the truth of what had happened in the room. “Anyway. Get to the bridge tomorrow at 0800. Thalia wants to talk to you.”

Jason sighed. “Of course,” he sent back, in reply, though he did so in text. “How nice of you to wait until I was done having sex,” he said, almost sarcastically. “I will see you in the morning. Or maybe earlier. I don’t know. I might need someone to talk to.”

Jason turned his thoughts to other things. He had finally done what he’d been meaning to for ages. Percy’s current despondent state and his associated guilt were the motivation that he needed to gather the courage to talk to Will. He’d asked the doctor to do an in-depth examination of his come and had told Will about the stockpile of his come and pre-come that he had, with great amusement, allowed Octavian to keep for lonely nights.

Hours later, three to be exact, according to his neural link, Jason realized that trying to sleep was fruitless. Percy had actually fallen asleep at some point in the last three hours, and Jason didn’t want to wake the younger man. He slid out of bed slowly, gently. He pulled on his pants and walked to the door. It slid open soundlessly.

Jason leaned against the wall of the bedroom. He looked around the living room for a moment before he walked over to the doors out of the living quarters. The doors hissed open, and then shut behind him. He _really_ needed to talk to Reyna. There was no getting away from the guilt of what he’d just done.

When Jason rounded the corner, he felt the breath knocked out of his lungs. A heavy hand was pressed to his chest, and a black Tungsten Carbide blade was held to his throat. “What is this, Nico?” he hissed. The son of Hades was the only man he knew that possessed a weapon of such make.

Behind Nico was a very unfriendly-looking Will. The blond placed the palm of his hand on the wall beside Jason’s head and looked him in the eye, glaring. “Care to explain, _Mr. Grace,_ ” said Will, practically snarling, “Why the fuck do you have addictive compounds and _nanites_ in your fucking come?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooooooooooooooooh. Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn. The plot deepens.
> 
> What, did you honestly think there wasn't going to be angst in this? Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaase. You know who I am. *winks*


	14. Demons Old and New

“What on earth are you talking about, Will?” said Jason. He was straining his neck away from the blade. It had already nicked him in a few uncomfortable places, and he could feel blood trickling down his bare chest. “I do _not_ have nanites in my come. Don’t you think that’s the kind of thing a guy would notice?” he hissed.

Will looked at Jason for a moment, head tilted in curiosity. The neural link on Will’s left temple briefly glowed cyan, in tandem with Jason’s. He sighed, the anger dissolving from his frame. He patted Nico on the shoulder and placed a hand, gently, on Nico’s wrist. “He’s not lying.”

With a huff, Nico removed his hand from Jason’s chest. A heartbeat later, reluctantly, Nico withdrew the knife. He tucked the knife back in its hidden sheath on his belt. “Come on,” said Will. The doctor grabbed Jason by the elbow. “Let’s take this somewhere else.”

The way to Cerberus was relatively uneventful. “Cerberus,” said Nico, as they stepped into the ship. The A.I., one of the few with a non-humanoid manifestation, barked. “Human speech, please, Cerberus,” said Nico. “Protocol _silenzio._ ”

Jason didn’t know archaic Italian _too_ well, but he understood it well enough. Silence protocol. One of the few things multilateral agreements between the majority of companies, spacefaring organizations, and the planetary government, the Silence protocol demanded that all ship Artificial Intelligences be programmed to suspend surveillance capabilities on docked ships broadcasting the protocol signal. He was well aware that whatever they said would remain on Cerberus unless they decided to share it with Scipio.

“What were you talking about when you said there were addictive compounds in my come?” said Jason. Nico and Will had taken him to their living quarters and had given him a seat. “ _Nanites,_ I doubt,” said Jason, “but addictive compounds? I could be convinced of nanites, don’t get me wrong, but frankly, I can’t think of anywhere those addictive compounds would be coming from.”

Will glanced at Nico, their neural links blinking and flashing under their skin. “Better you see for yourself,” said Will, with a heavy sigh. Will picked up a hand-held screen projector. The four quarters of the silvery cube flew apart, projecting a holographic screen in the rectangle between them.

“See this?” said Will, pointing at a document that Jason could only assume was the collated data the doctor had managed to gather from his semen. “That’s an addictive compound. One of the most dangerous. It’s been outlawed on C-Vita Lyrae since planetary government was established and borrowed the earth charter of laws.”

Jason could barely even _read_ the name of the compound, but he faintly remembered having seen the name in a document somewhere. He just couldn’t remember which document it was, exactly. “It gets worse than that,” said Nico, begrudgingly. Jason looked at Nico and saw that the tension that had been in the other man’s shoulders had melted away. It seemed that Nico was finally convinced of Jason’s innocence.

Will pointed at another name, slightly familiar to Jason, but for reasons he couldn’t properly recall. “This compound,” said Will, after pointing to four others, “and these, are known components of a classified military-grade drug used to not only induce receptiveness to instructions, but also dependence on the person that is perceived to have administered it.”

“Do you have any idea why the military classified this drug?” said Will, “Because there was an unprecedented consensus between the Collective government on Earth, as well as the Lunar, Venusian, and Martian planetary governments that the drug was _too_ dangerous to use even in military operations.”

“I hope you’re not taking any offense to me right now, Jason,” said Will. “But you have to understand. Your come is _potent._ That thing you thought Octavian was doing to tide him over when you weren’t around? That was because he was going to experience withdrawal without your come.”

“The boy’s life is fucking ruined, Jason,” said Will. “Kahale won’t be happy when he learns about this, no matter how enthusiastically he endorsed the whole agreement between you and Octavian while Octavian was working for you.”

“And now you’ve done it to Percy,” said Nico. There wasn’t a hint of sympathy on the son of Hades’ voice. There was something cold and mildly threatening about the words, too. The Neural link revealed the words that had been left unsaid. “ _You better fucking hope you don’t ruin_ his _life, too._ ”

“What can I do about it? What can we do about it?” said Jason. There was a tremor in his voice that he was so unaccustomed to hearing. What had just been revealed certainly explained the desperate phone calls from his intermittent sexual partners that he had never had the time to properly answer.

What Will’s findings didn’t explain was why the calls just _stopped_ coming. Will looked at Nico, again, twiddling his thumbs nervously. “Well, the thing is, I can get rid of the nanites but at best that will only reduce the amount of both substances that you produce, and the rate at which you produce it.” Will stood up and patted Jason on the shoulder. “Have you ever noticed that you could eat much more than other people and not really gain any weight?”

“Well, yeah,” said Jason. He looked over at Nico, who offered little more in support than a nonchalant shrug. “I always thought it was just genetics. Zeus never seemed to have trouble burning off fat. I know he eats like a king and _loves_ it, but he never gets any bigger.”

“Well,” said Will, with a nervous chuckle. “The thing is, it probably _is_ genetics. Only, it’s likely not the kind of genetics you’re going to want to have in your body.” Will squeezed Jason’s shoulder. “How long has it been since your last biometric scan?” said the doctor.

“Well,” said Jason. “I’m a conscientious objector, like Percy,” he said. Will smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. “The last biometric scan I had was a superficial one, only to confirm my identity with surface features, while my neural link was being installed.” Jason bit his lower lip. “The last full biometric scan I had to endure was back when I still lived with Zeus at Hellene HQ.”

Nico and Will shared another nervous look, as they had been wont to do over the last few minutes. “Well, you better get your ass to Cerberus’ medbay,” said Will. “We have to do one right now.”

\----------

Percy genuinely felt conflicted when the weight on the bed behind him left. He missed the hands that had been rubbing his shoulders, and, frankly, some small part of him also missed the cock that had been rubbing up and down the cleft of his ass. Still, that did not change the way that Percy felt torn between disgust and happiness.

Percy was nauseous. He couldn’t believe what had just happened to him. What he had just _let_ happen. How much of it had he actually wanted, and how much of it had he done to stay in Jason’s good graces? He didn’t know, and the fact that he didn’t made him sick to his stomach.

Percy still tasted Jason’s come on his tongue, the salty-sweet flavour of it mingled with the taste of his own. Only, the sweetness had long since disappeared, leaving behind a bitter note that Percy felt was only too apt to describe his current state of mind.

Percy traced his fingers down his side, shivering as they followed the path that Jason’s had tread so many times during their ‘session.’ He traced the curve of his ass, remembering the way that Jason caressed it. “Fuck,” he whispered to himself in the darkness. His fingers dipped into the cleft of his ass and massaged his hole. “What am I doing?” he said, with a bitter laugh.

Percy felt both loved all over and violated. He couldn’t explain the feeling, nor could he even fully wrap his head around it. It was strange. It was alien. It made him afraid.

Percy whimpered. Even alone, thoughts of Jason tormented him. He imagined the older man fingering him, pressing a single finger in, and then two. Percy gasped as he breached himself with a third finger, his cock rising between his legs.

Percy licked his lips. His mind’s eye was captured by the thought of Jason’s thick cock in his mouth. He was salivating. He stretched his hole, moving his three fingers apart. He hissed and then whimpered at the burning, but satisfying, pain.

“ _Gods,_ ” Percy thought to himself, lips parting in a moan. In his mind’s eye, he was licking Jason’s cock, he was sucking the pre-come right out of it. “ _I want it in me,_ ” he thought to himself. Percy whimpered, the fingers in his ass shaking as his mind’s eye changed the scene.

Percy imagined himself on his back, his legs in the air, ass exposed to the heavy thick cock that was rubbing against his. “Daddy,” he panted, to the empty room. “Fuck me,” he said, “please.”

In Percy’s fantasy, Jason plunged into him. As in his daydream as in real life, Percy’s cock started to spew come onto his chest. He whimpered and shuddered, toes curling in pleasure as his spontaneous orgasm washed over him without so much as a stroke of his hard cock.

When it was all over, Percy gasped for breath, tears stinging at his eyes. “What is happening to me?” he said, to no one in particular, biting back the sobs that threatened to spill from him.

\----------

Jason swung his legs over the side of the medical cot that Will had commanded him, in no uncertain terms, to lie naked in. Granted, Jason wasn’t about to complain about the appreciative looks that Will shot his way, mirrored, albeit begrudgingly, by Nico.

Jason liked knowing that he was at least attractive enough to draw the attention of the very tightly—or loosely, depending on who was asked—committed couple. Anyway, whatever levity had been in the room at the beginning of the scan had practically been leached out of the air. Will had started frowning as soon as the preliminary results had come in, and the frown had only deepened since.

Nico was pacing back and forth, neural link surprisingly devoid of the tell-tale blinking of a person responding to messages. Jason looked with concern and worry at Will. He was well aware that the doctor and Nico were rarely apart, mentally, if not physically. “It’s much worse than I thought,” said Will. There was a weariness in his shoulders as he turned around to face Jason and Nico.

Nico frowned and walked over to Will’s side. Jason watched, anxious, as Nico wrapped his arms around Will’s waist. “I thought that maybe you were producing the necessary elements and the nanites were in charge of assembling the compounds, but I was wrong.”

Will splayed his fingers over the holographic clipboard he held in his hands. He drew his fingers together as though he was clutching a ball. The projection turned into a spherical bundle of light which Will subsequently threw on the wall nearest to Jason. “Your prostate and seminal vesicles have been hijacked, basically. _You_ yourself are producing the compounds, and the nanites are, as far as I can tell, only there to fix malformed compounds and boost production by excreting hormones.”

“I can help you get the nanites out real quick with a localised EMP,” said Will, “but like I said the problem is genetic.”

Will motioned with his hand, and the holographic screen shifted to show an image of Jason’s body. Will flicked his wrist, and suddenly, Jason was looking at a very _red_ image of himself. “What does this mean, Will?” said Jason. He felt the bed sink beside him as Nico took a seat, Will in his lap.

“Hate to break it to you, buddy,” said Will. A heartbeat later, Jason felt a hand squeezing his shoulder. “Red shows every cell that currently carries the genetic instruction to produce the compounds. Blue is supposed to show the cells that have your original genetic code—or at least what’s in the registry,” said the doctor.

“Literally every cell in your body had its genetic code replaced at one point, and now, what’s in the registry, which still matches except for the parts that we didn’t know about until now, isn’t stored _anywhere_ on your body.”

“Wait, wait,” said Jason. “That makes no sense. How could someone change my entire genetic code without me noticing?” Jason pursed his lips and looked at the floor. The hand on his shoulder was both comforting and aggravating. “We didn’t even have the technology to add instructions to DNA without damaging the prior structure until it was invented on C-Vita Lyrae.”

“Well,” said Will. He looked at Nico, as though asking for permission. Nico just grunted and waved him on. “That’s where you’re wrong, Jason. Remember when you hired me as the medical contractor for Pantheon Industries and the New Rome fleet?”

Jason frowned, not sure what Will’s employment contract had to do with his present condition. “Reyna told me that as, technically, the highest ranking medical officer of a branch of the company directly subsidized by the government that I had security clearance to classified military-grade medical information.”

“So,” said Will, twiddling his thumbs nervously again, “I took her word for it and accessed Collective government files. We had the technology long before we arrived at C-Vita Lyrae. It was the Hellene group that introduced the commercial version of it, and they were only able to because they were directly affiliated with earth military.”

“You say it makes no sense that someone was able to modify your entire genetic code without you noticing,” said Will. “I’ll give you that. You’re right. It makes no sense unless…”

Jason frowned. Then, he felt like puking as the horror of what Will had just shared dawned on him. “ARKIII,” he whispered. “That fucker did it to me on the way here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot deepens... >:] *cackles evilly*
> 
> So, what does everyone think, so far? :3.


	15. Falling Apart

Jason looked Nico in the eye. He was trying his best not to look as frazzled and desperate as he was, but he wasn’t having much luck. “Tell Cerberus to get me Leo,” he said. “I need him to break into ARKIII’s data banks.”

Nico raised an eyebrow at Jason. Will was about to say something, but the couple’s neural links blinked briefly and Will shut his mouth. “We need to find out when, how, and most especially _why_ Zeus did this to me,” he said, frantically.

Jason wanted to sound calm and collected—like he was most of the time—but from the looks on Nico and Will’s faces, he could tell that they weren’t convinced by his tone at all. “Please,” Jason pleaded. “I _need_ to know.”

“Hold on a moment,” said Nico, pushing Jason back into the cushions of his seat when he tried to get up. “It’s one thing to want to try and break into the data banks of Hellene HQ, since you still have your backdoors in that system, but ARKIII is a whole other ballpark.” Nico looked Jason in the eye. “Play dirty all you want, but there is no way you’re going to brute-force yourself into ARKIII.”

Jason looked at Nico for a moment, blinking uncomprehendingly at what was being said to him. He was heartbeats away from wringing his hands helplessly at Nico. He felt _violated_ in the worst possible way, but he managed to _just_ keep himself together. “I _need_ to know, Nico,” he said, voice soft and threaded with emotions.

The son of Hades chuckled and pushed Jason back into his chair when he tried to get up, again. In all honesty, Jason was starting to get aggravated. “Okay, big guy,” said Nico. “Let’s forget for a second that _your_ company helped design the most sophisticated data protection system for ARKIII.”

Jason took a deep breath. He knew well enough that Nico took that tone of voice when he was about to strip an argument and utterly flay it. “Don’t you remember that ARKIII only _recognizes_ and _voluntarily_ commits itself to the laws of planetary government? It’s technically it’s own sovereign space habitat.”

Jason put his face in his hands. “Fuck!” he shouted, into his palms. He wanted to punch something. It wasn’t like him to forget a detail as important as that. He was falling apart, and he wasn’t even able to hide it like he usually did.

It was one thing to be resolute in the face of difficulty, but Jason felt like his entire identity had just been invalidated by the knowledge that his genetic code had been tampered with without his consent. “So what?” he said, so blatantly grasping at straws, “Leo can get in there, get what I need, and get out without leaving a trace.”

“You really think so?” said Nico. There was a small smirk on Nico’s face that Jason just wanted to punch off of it. Jason knew why, though. It was very rare to see him so distraught, and as well-meaning as Nico was, he was sure Nico enjoyed the sight. “Remember, ARKIII is a sovereign habitat and its government is comprised not only of an elected branch of officials—but also an executive one made up of the board of directors of the company that sponsored its construction as per the ARK treaty.”

“And I’m willing to bet,” said Nico, as he folded his arms over his chest, “that I don’t have to remind you that the sponsor of ARKIII and ARKIV is the Hellene group of companies.”

“Fuck,” said Jason, again. He looked away and thumped his fist on the armrest of his chair. “Why do I keep forgetting these things?” he said. The question was rhetorical, but even if he had meant it, he knew the answer. He was not only distraught, but ARKIII was so irrelevant to Nova Olympia that he hardly ever thought about it.

The only time that the people of C-Vita Lyrae ever actually worried about ARKIII was when its regular shipment of hydrogen canisters for the HELIOS reactors was delayed. Even then, C-Vita Lyrae was no longer dependent on the gigantic ship for fuel. Scipio was well-equipped to harvest and provide fuel to Nova Olympia on his own.

Will patted Jason on the shoulder. “I know how frustrated you must feel, but you have to trust me, Jason.” Jason looked at Will. He met the doctor’s eyes, looking for any sign of pretence or falsehood. “You’re still you. Mostly.”

Will drew up another diagram of Jason’s physiology. This one was zoomed in on Jason’s cerebral region. Apart from the red highlight of the cells there, there was one other structure that caught Jason’s eye. A metallic lattice seemed to be wound into his brain matter, and he feared what it meant.

Jason looked askance at Will and immediately regretted it. He wished he hadn’t seen the look of sympathy on Will’s face. “That’s a nanite swarm,” said Will. “Your proclivity for sexual dominance and your preference for younger guys is something that you inherited from your dad,” said Will. “That much is _still_ you.”

Jason didn’t know whether to be relieved or frustrated. He could almost hear the but that hadn’t been said. “It took a little bit, since I had to have Cerberus gestalt with Caduceus to analyse the structure.” Will paused and squeezed Jason’s shoulder. “They believe, given the biometric scan, that the structure is responsible for augmenting those qualities while you’re having sex—especially when the endorphins start kicking in.”

Jason put his face in his hands again. “None of this makes any sense to me,” he said. “None of it.” That was a _very_ bad thing. Typically, he was one of the first in their little group to catch on to Zeus’ plots, but he was so thrown-off by what had just happened that he couldn’t even conceive of the point of all of it. “Why would he do this to me? And why the obsession with sex?”

Jason’s eyes were drawn to Nico when Nico walked back to his own seat. Nico tapped the arm rest of his chair for a few moments, before, it seemed, an epiphany struck. “How old were you when you left Earth with ARKIII?”

Jason blinked. He had an inkling that it had something to do with Zeus’ probable reasons, but he couldn’t quite make the leap of logic that it _seemed_ Nico had managed to do. “I was a year older than Reyna. She was around 22 at the time, I think,” he said.

“Did you have a sexual history by the time that you left?” Nico leaned forward. The question made Jason uncomfortable. He was hot under the collar, but he nodded. Yes. He’d done some fooling around before they left Earth. The clubs were _quite_ accommodating—his sexual partners even more so. “Thought so,” said Nico.

“Did you ever get the feeling that Zeus thought you were too independent for his liking?” said Will. Jason looked at the doctor and spotted the blinking neural link from the periphery of his vision. How Nico and Will managed a mental conversation while having a verbal one was, quite frankly, beyond him.

“Well,” said Jason, “He always reminded me that he was in charge. He kept telling me, the first few years before stasis, that ARKIII was _his_ ship and that I had to follow _his_ rules while I was on it.” Jason managed a small smile at himself. “Of course I didn’t fucking listen, but still. To answer your question, I think he did. He liked being in control _very_ much.”

Nico leaned back, face thoughtful, for a moment. “Bear with me, Jason,” said the son of Hades, “but I have a theory about why he’s targeting your sexual partners in particular.” Will sharply jabbed Nico in the ribs with his elbow. “Ow! _We_ have a theory.”

\----------

Percy cracked his eyes open. It was still dark in the room, though honestly, he hadn’t expected that to change. Morning hadn’t come yet, at least not from the perspective of C-Vita Lyrae. He hadn’t the faintest idea whether the sun had risen or set on Earth, yet.

Percy didn’t quite know when he had fallen asleep, but he had managed, somehow, to cry himself to sleep. He didn’t know what was happening to him, and frankly, some part of him didn’t _want_ to know.

Percy hoped, dearly, that he had at least managed to squeeze in a few hours of shut-eye. He rested his head on the pillow and sighed heavily. Even his dreams had provided little shelter from the intrusive thoughts that plagued him—the ones about Jason, and especially Jason’s cock.

Percy felt his dick stiffen between his legs. The blankets he’d drawn over himself while he slept were sticky around his groin. He supposed it made sense that he had come all over himself when he had come in his dreams.

Some of his dreams, Percy found, were much easier to ignore than the others. There was one, in particular, that seemed to be burned into his mind’s eye. He had basically been Jason’s house boy, paid to do nothing but clean up around the house and be pretty. He remembered, distinctly, that he had worn nothing but a jockstrap—one that left _very_ little to the imagination.

_“You look good,” said Percy, looking himself in the mirror. He had his back turned to it, three quarters of a turn. His pert buttcheeks, accentuated by the workout regime that Jason had prescribed to him, were framed by the straps of the jockstrap in the best way possible. “Daddy’s sure gonna love how you look.”_

_“Mmm…” Percy whispered, slapping one of his butt cheeks. He left behind a red handprint, one that tingled in the cool air of the manse grounds. Daddy had definitely given him a workout regime to accentuate his best assets, and he_ absolutely _loved that daddy had done that for him._

Percy shivered. His eyes flew open. He hadn’t realized he had gotten lost in the memory of that dream. His hand was wrapped around his cock, idly stroking it. His erection was mildly painful, almost raw, probably from the amount of times he had come.

_Percy dropped the meat into the boiling water, careful not to splash any of it on the skin that he spent a lot of effort keeping soft and glowing for daddy. He almost bounced on the heels of his feet. “Yes, daddy,” he called out. “I’m coming.”_

_“No, daddy,” said Percy, giggling in a surprisingly effeminate, high-pitched tone. “I didn’t_ come _like that. I wouldn’t do that without your permission,” he said. Percy dropped some of the vegetables that would have taken longer to cook into the water and lowered the heat as he practically_ bounded _out of the kitchen._

_Percy stopped when he passed by a mirror. He turned his back to it, again, and adjusted the straps of his jock so that it pushed up his butt cheeks just a little bit more than it usually did. The straps dug into his skin a bit, but he knew seeing his butt like this would drive daddy crazy._

_Percy ran into the living room and stopped short of the door to it. He saw Jason there, legs splayed apart, arms thrown over the back of the couch. He could see the very visible tent in between Jason’s legs, and he felt his own little dick—because daddy said that boys don’t have cocks—harden in his jock._

_Percy bounced over to Jason and straddled his Daddy’s lap. He could feel the hard cock through the fabric of Jason’s slacks. “Oh, Daddy,” he said, giggling, “Is this for me?” Percy squeezed his cheeks together with his hands and grinned when Daddy groaned. Daddy’s hands replaced his and pulled his cheeks apart._

_“Oh yes, boy,” said Daddy, with a grin that made Percy blush all the way down from his cheeks to his shoulders. “Daddy’s cock wants your tight hole.” Daddy squeezed Percy’s buttcheeks, drawing a high-pitched whine from him. “But remember the rules, boy.”_

_Percy threw his arms around Daddy’s neck. He pressed kisses to Daddy’s cheeks and the line of Daddy’s jaw. “Oh, Daddy,” he whined, “I want your cock in my hole so badly.” Percy felt Daddy’s finger playing with his hole. “Daddy, please,” he panted, “I want your cock, not your finger. Fuck me, please, Daddy. Please!”_

Percy’s back arched off of the bed, jets of come spurting from the tip of his cock and onto his chest. “Fuck,” he groaned, when he came down from his orgasmic high. Some of his dreams were _certainly_ harder to shake than others.

Percy picked up the sheets and wiped himself down. He sat up, panting. “Tempest, lights, please,” he said, to the darkened room. There was no response. He waited for a minute, in case the A.I. was busy with something else. The lights still didn’t turn on.

Percy sighed. He didn’t know why he would be on Scipio, since Jason had been in his bed, but he was too distraught to think too much on the matter. “Scipio,” he said, “Lights, please.” The lights flickered on, dimly at first, as was standard. “Thank you, Scipio,” he said, as the purple-and-gold avatar of the A.I. appeared in front of him.

“Of course, young master,” said Scipio, with a knowing smirk that Percy didn’t miss. He didn’t particularly care, at the moment, but he nonetheless felt a little ashamed that Scipio had been watching the whole time. “Would you like me to contact daddy?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go. Chapter 15. :3. The story deepens, and Scipio shows his sassy side. What did you think? :3.


	16. Situation

“Please don’t call Jason that,” Percy sputtered. He felt his cheeks warm, though it felt more like his face was on fire, rather than just red. The A.I. smirked, instead of saying anything. Of course. It was the kind of reaction that, frankly, Percy half-expected from an A.I. that had Jason’s name all over it.

Percy tried his best to ignore the shimmering holographic avatar of Scipio, but it was a bit difficult. He looked around, eyes adjusting to the dim light. He wondered where his clothes were—if he even had any at this point. The search, ultimately, proved to be fruitless. “Scipio,” said Percy, relenting with a sigh, “Where can I find clothes?”

There was a soft ding that filtered in through the speakers in the room, and a holographic projection outlined the doors of a closet that Percy felt stupid for missing. The doors swung open on their own, revealing an array of standard-issue jumpsuits—ones with Scipio’s emblem on the shoulder. “Thank you, Scipio,” said Percy, gingerly pushing himself off of the bed and onto the floor.

For a moment, Percy considered jumping up. After all, Scipio was there to catch him if he pitched over and fell, right? It took him another moment or so to realize that Scipio was just an avatar—as lifelike as he might have seemed under the glimmering holographic artifacts.

Percy gingerly made his way to the closet. He grabbed one of the jumpsuits from the rack. Just as he was bending over to pull it over his legs, he realized that he probably shouldn’t be reaching down with his left arm. He braced himself for the pain he was sure was coming, except, it never did.

Percy straightened. The jumpsuit had a hem that ran up the front side, along the centre of the body. Percy put one side over the other and squeezed, prompting the nanites threaded into the fabric to fuse the two sides together. Using his fingers, he zipped the jumpsuit up, all the way to his waist.

When he was done, Percy looked down at his shoulder. He felt both surprised and stupid when he realized that he didn’t have the sling around his arm anymore. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it while Jason had been doing those things to him. Percy shivered, his cock plumping up against the silky-smooth inner fabric of the jumpsuit.

The bottom hems of the jumpsuit legs started to shift. Percy looked down just in time to see intermittent flashes of light as the jumpsuit conformed itself to be a perfect fit. The holes at the bottom of the jumpsuit legs shrank down flush with his skin. He loved the feeling of it, normally. Right now, though, it just intensified the unwelcome sensuality that Percy was feeling.

Percy forced his mind away from the gutter. He prodded at his shoulder and winced. It was still somewhat painful when poked, but more in the sense that it was tender rather than actually injured. “Scipio,” he said, looking up at the glittering avatar, “what happened to my shoulder?”

“Well,” said Scipio, “since you passed out after the kerfuffle at the bridge, Dr. Solace thought it would be the best time to give you a proper treatment in _my_ medbay.” Percy could tell the A.I. was rather proud of one-upping Tempest in that regard.

Scipio drew up a holographic screen to show surveillance footage of when, exactly, Percy had dozed off. Moments later, Will entered the frame and grabbed Jason’s arm. “As you can see, Mr. Jackson, Dr. Solace caught up to Dr. Grace and basically demanded that you be taken to my medbay.”

As far as Percy was concerned, it looked more like Will had physically _dragged_ Jason to the medbay. That was what the footage indicated, at least. Jason was scrabbling for a hold on the smooth sides of the hallways, while Nico was pushing his wheelchair with a bemused expression. “As you can see,” said Scipio, with a smug, self-satisfied grin, “Dr. Solace’s methods, while decidedly unorthodox, have proven to be rather effective.”

Percy shrugged. He had to admit. The A.I. had a point. Besides, some vindictive part of him _liked_ seeing Jason bossed around like that for once. “Would you mind putting me through to Annabeth, Scipio? I need to talk to her.”

The A.I. tilted his head curiously, for a moment. “Very well, Mr. Jackson. She says she will be on in a moment.” Scipio walked up to Percy. “Might I suggest you finish dressing up, sir?”

Despite himself, Percy scowled at Scipio. The A.I. vanished, leaving behind a disembodied voice that said, “No need to get aggressive, Mr. Jackson. I will show myself out.” Softer, but still through the intercom, Scipio mumbled, “Whatever showing myself out of part of myself means.”

\----------

Jason was pretty sure that if Reyna could reach through the holographic screen that Cerberus was presently projecting on the nearby wall, she would have her hands around Jason’s throat. The Admiral’s hair was currently rather messy, with stray strands sticking out here and there. “You better have good reason for this, Grace,” said Reyna. “I am fucking _indecent._ ”

Reyna shook the sheet, that was covering up her torso, at the screen. She huffed before clutching the fabric back to her chest. “You don’t get to complain, Reyna,” said Jason, a small smirk playing on his lips. “You’re the one that insists on putting every single message to me on urgent priority. It’s a bit irritating after sex, isn’t it?”

Reyna _growled_ at Jason, and he couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit. He felt a lot more put together now than he had been earlier, when Nico and Will had first broken the news to him. He couldn’t help feeling violated, still, but the two had managed to get his mind back on track. He could sort out his personal issues later, when he had sorted out all the other issues currently threatening not only his company, but also his friends.

“So, who’s the lucky girl?” said Jason. Reyna rolled her eyes. The lights behind her turned on, casting a dim glow all around the room. A face, framed by curly red hair popped up behind Reyna, green eyes glittering in the screen. “Rachel?” Jason whispered. He was well aware that Reyna and Rachel had had something of a relationship back on Earth. He hadn’t expected her to be with the Hunters.

“Hylla told me there was a cute redhead waiting to see me on Adonis,” said Reyna. She reached up and stroked the side of Rachel’s face with the backs of her fingers. “Didn’t think it would be Dare.”

Reyna craned her neck back and kissed Rachel. The kiss lasted no more than a few moments, but it was certainly lingering enough to make Jason fidget where he stood. “I thought you’d broken up,” said Jason. “Last time I remember, Rachel was talking about how she had managed to get in Gwendolyn’s bed.”

Reyna snickered. “Oh yeah. So proud of her.” Rachel beamed at Reyna. “Who do you think told her to go for it, Grace? And why do you think Kahale’s so open to the idea of a committed but not restrictive relationship with Octavian?”

Jason made a face. He was pretty sure there were quite a few ethical rules being broken, if Reyna was suggesting what he thought she was. Either way, he didn’t particularly care about her sleeping around with her second-in-command, but Kahale _was_ rather important in what he was about to tell Reyna.

“Reyna,” said Jason, pinching the bridge of his nose. He looked over his shoulder at Nico and Will. “We might have a situation. Yesterday’s attacks might have been premeditated.”

Reyna looked at Jason as though he’d grown a second head. “Well, no shit they were premeditated, Jason.” She shook her head. “There was no way they would have gotten to Capitoline Hill if they hadn’t planned this.”

“Yeah, I know that,” said Jason. “But that’s not what I meant. I’m _sure_ there was a plan.” Jason looked over at Nico and Will again, “but Nico and Will pointed out something a little bit disturbing to me.”

“I’ll have Will send you the details through Butch, just to make sure they’re secure.” Reyna frowned as the neural link at the side of her head started blinking. “As for the attacks, you and I both know that if Zeus was planning on taking power, he wouldn’t have let _any_ members of parliament survive.”

Reyna looked thoughtful, for a moment, then disturbed. Jason supposed she was reading what Will had sent while also listening to him. “He’s got the upper echelons of parliament under his thumb, sure,” said Jason, “but he knows we’ve got allies in the lower house.”

“We think that this attack was pushed ahead of schedule,” said Jason.

“Really?” said Reyna, now genuinely worried. “You think he could have done this? I know you never particularly cared about his attitude, Jason—not that you complained about his ass—but that’s some accusation.”

Reyna tapped the neural link at her temple, and immediately it started blinking red. She was destroying the data. She had the right idea. It was too dangerous to carry around. “It makes the most sense in light of what we recently found out, though, don’t you think?”

Rachel looked between the screen, Reyna, and back. She had a worried expression on her face, but she seemed wise enough to stay out of the discussion for now. Reyna sighed and threw up her hands. “I don’t like this, Jason, but you’ve got a _very_ strong point.”

Reyna leaned back and sighed. She looked at Rachel, clearly tired from everything that had been happening. “What the fuck am I supposed to tell Kahale?” she said. “That we’re taking in the love of his life—even though he won’t admit that’s what Octavian is—prisoner because he _might_ have had something to do with the attack?”

Jason felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Nico. “I don’t really care what you tell Kahale, Reyna,” said the son of Hades. “But what’s important is that we don’t let him get anywhere near Octavian. Under any circumstances. Not to bandy about accusations freely, but we don’t know if Kahale himself is involved in any of this.”

Reyna sputtered, for a moment, clearly outraged at the insinuation that her second-in-command could be responsible for the death of a large portion of planetary government. Jason watched, with growing discomfort, as the admiral struggled with the idea. Finally, she sighed, resignedly. “Fine,” she said.

Reyna looked over to one side. “Scipio,” she said, “Get me HQ. I need confirmation that Octavian is still on the premises.” A few moments passed, in silence. “What do you mean he’s not there? So you’re telling me that he didn’t actually report to his first day on the job as co-director of project SIBYL?”

“Fucking hell,” Reyna said. She reached out toward the opposite side of the screen, presumably to pull up another one. “Human Resources?” she said. “Yes, I need a tracker on Octavian. This is important. I have clearance from Jason Grace.” Reyna looked expectantly at Jason. Jason coughed, to make his presence known.

“What?” said Reyna. The frown on her face did not make Jason any more comfortable. “Okay, I’ll tell him right away.” There was a brief click and whirr as the third screen, presumably, was deactivated. “The boy’s at your mansion, Grace.” Reyna pinched the bridge of her nose. “Should we send an extraction team?”

Rachel reached across Reyna’s chest. “No,” said Rachel. “Let us go. If we want this mission to be of utmost secrecy, you’re not going to get better at Espionage than the Hunters.” Rachel tapped the side of her head. There was no blinking, there, but Jason suspected there was a neural link under the skin, somewhere. “Sorry, but Artemis has been intercepting your communications. We are now well aware of what’s going on.”

“No,” said Jason. “He’s at my house. He’s my responsibility.” Jason turned to face Nico and Will. “I should probably fetch him.”

Jason hadn’t expected anything different, when four voices suddenly spoke up in unison. Nico, Will, Rachel, and Reyna all said the words with varying degrees of disgust, and disbelief, but the sentiment was clear. “Are you crazy? It’s obviously a trap!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> Sorry I missed last week's update. I was very busy working on a term paper of mine. In other news, if you really enjoy my writing, guys, I would _really_ appreciate it if you went ahead and visited my Inkshares page at [Dwindling Glory: Entwined](http://inkshares.com/books/dwindling-glory-entwined). That's the page for the novel that I'm currently writing. It's aimed at New Adults, so kind of older Young Adult, and it features an LGBT+ protagonist and his fiancé.
> 
> Any support would be fantastic, and I would loooove it if you guys helped me get the book funded once I actually start trying to get it funded. :3.
> 
> ~Love, Malkuthe.
> 
> P.S. Who thinks Jason is being stupid? *raises hand*


	17. Departure

Annabeth’s hand rubbed the small of Percy’s back in slow circles that he supposed were meant to be comforting to him. However, they were less than effective. Percy couldn’t feel her touch, nor so much as the slightest wafting of cool air against his bare skin.

Percy still hadn’t pulled on the top half of the new jumpsuit, but it didn’t seem to matter all that much at the moment. Annabeth had come, just like he’d asked her to, except she had in none of the ways that mattered to him. At least at the moment.

Percy needed a shoulder to lean on, and as far as he was aware, it was impossible to lean on the shoulder of a holographic avatar—no matter how realistic it seemed to be. Underneath the glittering silvery-ness, at least.

The platitudes that Annabeth’s silvery avatar offered Percy did not comfort him in the slightest. His heart was still galloping at a mile a minute, and nothing he tried could get it to slow down. He felt slightly light-headed from all the emotional turbulence that was going on inside of him, and he was starting to think he was losing his mind.

Percy appreciated that Annabeth had come, in some way, but he was pretty sure that she would have accomplished more if she had just not started talking. He could lose himself in the motes of light that detached from her holographic form every now and again. They drifted to the ceiling in slow, spiralling trails that eventually ended with a splash of smaller motes that, over time, dissipated.

Percy wasn’t stupid. He knew that the motes weren’t some artifact of a flawed piece of technology. Considering how he’d witnessed, earlier, that the Hunters’ technology was somewhat more advanced than what they currently possessed, he was willing to believe that the motes had been constructed _specifically_ to help calm his nerves.

Percy was well aware that just like the way that Scipio and Tempest flickered every now and again, it was all very deliberate; it was all done for effect. Simply put, holographic technology was far enough advanced that it wasn’t likely to fall prey to small things like artifacting. People just seemed to hold on to the artifacting because it was more familiar—less unknown.

“Annabeth,” said Percy, pulling away as the glittering avatar leaned in to whisper ‘ _it’s okay_ ’ in his ear for the n-th time of the early morning. Percy turned to face the hologram seated on the edge of the bed beside him. “Annabeth, as much as I love you,” he said, forcing a smile, “and you know I do… This… talking with a hologram. It’s not working for me.”

“I know what you mean, Percy,” said Annabeth with a smile to match Percy’s crooked one. Percy didn’t quite know why, but the way that she smiled at him filled him with a comforting warmth that her avatar’s touch couldn’t even begin to hope to replicate.

Percy was lost in his thoughts for a moment. He had just realized how utterly _pretty_ Annabeth’s hologram was. The silvery pupils of the avatar’s irises were iridescent with life, and the motes of light that drifted from its skin made her seem otherworldly; divine. Percy wondered, idly, whether he would have courted Annabeth if he had had even the slightest smidgen of attraction to women.

“But,” said Annabeth, “You _did_ ask for me urgently and this was the best that I could put together.” Annabeth gestured down at herself. The words snapped Percy out of his thoughts, and he didn’t mind the interruption, for once.

Percy’s mind had already begun the not-so-difficult work of turning his idle daydreams about Annabeth into more sultry fantasies about Jason—particularly being Jason’s ‘boy.’ Percy pressed his face into his hands and heaved a heavy sigh. “What do you say, Percy?” said Annabeth, “Come aboard Adonis. Maybe talking in person will help more. And maybe a tour of my ship will do you some good.”

“You’d do that for me?” said Percy, perking up. He wasn’t the _biggest_ starship geek, but there was definitely enough different from the norm, when it came to Adonis, that his interest was piqued. It certainly didn’t help that Annabeth pulled up a miniature holographic projection of the ship above her open palm.

“Of course I would!” said Annabeth with a smile. “Anything to help, Percy. You helped with the Bessie situation, after all.” Annabeth’s avatar patted Percy on the shoulder again. “Men are typically not allowed on Adonis since they have their own ship—which we sent to ARKV, but I’ve gotten you clearance from Hylla.”

There was a soft ding from the speakers around the room. A strip lit up on the ground, stark purple compared to the soft creamy white of the floor around it. “Just follow the line and it should take you straight to the main hangar and onto Adonis.”

\----------

Percy was well aware that it wasn’t very difficult to get to the hangar, what with the purple line that was supposed to guide him there. But, when Annabeth’s avatar had vanished to, as she put it, get decent before he arrived, he inevitably got himself lost.

Percy just couldn’t seem to form coherent thoughts. He felt light-headed and spaced-out, almost as though he was floating on top of the turbulent emotions raging inside of him. He ended up taking a few wrong turns, entirely losing the purple line in the process, until Annabeth’s avatar reappeared next to him, chuckling.

Percy felt his cheeks warm as he looked over his shoulder at the glittering silvery visage of Annabeth. “Sorry,” he said, sheepishly. A ding filtered in through the speakers set along the hallway he was currently going down. A purple line appeared under his feet.

“Thanks, Annabeth,” said Percy, with a genuine smile. He looked down at the purple line and scratched the back of his head. “What would I do without you?” he said, as Annabeth patted him on the shoulder.

“Get hopelessly lost is what you would do, seaweed brain,” said Annabeth. Percy felt a warm tingle in his stomach at the affectionate nickname. “For all the work you do with animals that just have _amazing_ ways of getting around, you can’t seem to do it all too well on your own. Maybe we should have you modified with dolphin sonar. What do you think?”

Percy had raised his fist to punch Annabeth affectionately on the shoulder when he realized that she was just a hologram for now. “Shut up,” he said, the redness on his cheeks deepening, “I don’t have anything to tease you about, wise girl.” Annabeth’s avatar stopped, snickering. Percy harrumphed at her and kept walking—right into a set of doors he hadn’t noticed earlier.

Percy stumbled back, somewhat dazed. The doors hissed open and revealed, Percy gathered from the big 1 blinking from a screen above the doors, the _vast_ primary hangar of Scipio.

Percy knew a little bit about the company flagship, but not a lot. He _did_ know that the ship had four hangars, though. The primary hangar, as far as he remembered from the digital fliers he’d received upon applying for his internship, was where all personnel spacecraft were stored and received maintenance.

Hangars 2 and 3 were the main fighter and scout ship hangars, accessible only to members, honorary or official, of Scipio’s crew. The last hangar, hangar 4, was home to the resource collecting ships, mostly the hydrogen scoops and the asteroid miners that were vital to sustaining life on C-Vita Lyrae.

Leaving the hangar earlier, with Will, Percy hadn’t really had the chance to appreciate the sheer _enormity_ of the structure. The vaulted ceiling was likely an entire six or seven storeys above him. He was standing on a walkway that clung to the walls, one that separated the full two storeys of the first section of the hangar into a first floor and a pseudo-second floor.

Percy had never really thought about how daunting Scipio’s size was, but now that he stood above the first of the four hangars in the ship, he was beginning to realize that Scipio could be a city in itself. It likely was, considering how many people crewed it.

“Impressive, isn’t he?” said Annabeth’s avatar as the two of them approached the railing of the walkway. They leaned over the edge and looked down at the few people moving between the docked ships on the first floor, performing routine maintenance.

Annabeth leaned back and looked at Percy. “You haven’t seen the ARK ships from up close yet, have you?” she said. Percy shook his head. No. He hadn’t. The only times he’d ever actually seen them was in old digital documents and on the news, whenever the colossal ship came into orbit around C-Vita Lyrae.

“ARKIV is easily ten or twenty times as large as Scipio is,” said Annabeth. “ARK ships have to be that big to support the population that live inside them. 10 million currently-active individuals on ARKIV, with another 30 in cryogenic stasis until ARKIV reaches C-Vita Lyrae…”

“Bit difficult to wrap your head around, hey?” said Annabeth, with a smile.

Percy looked over his shoulder at the glittering avatar. “Yeah,” he said, “I’m not sure I’m ready for something that big.” Annabeth started snickering, and it took a while for Percy to figure out why. His cheeks coloured pink. “Anyway,” he said, “where’s your ship?”

Annabeth gestured down at her feet. Percy followed her hand and saw that the purple line was back. It took a harsh right turn at the edge of the walkway, and made its way down the nearby staircase. Percy looked over the railing again and saw the purple line shoot across the hangar toward a silvery ship that looked completely out of place compared to the others currently in the hangar.

Long and thin like a needle, obviously made for speed and stealth rather than strength, Adonis was a stranger among the others. As they walked down the stairs, Percy eyed the ships that he knew. Cerberus was a brute of a ship, dark and imposing. The weapons installations in the front of Cerberus were rather infamously loaded with antimatter warheads.

Caduceus, Will’s ship, was bright and easily visible. Its strength lay in its construction, though. There were no visible weak spots in its hull, and it was built like a moving fortress. It was created that way so that it could transport the wounded from one place to another without worry even in the middle of a firefight.

Tempest was the only ship that even came close to looking remotely similar to Adonis. Even then, Tempest was bulkier and built to take a hit. The plasma and laser armaments mounted in front of Tempest were sure to dish out damage against similarly-sized ships, as well.

Percy decided, as they walked into the middle of the hangar, that if he was ever going to get a ship of his own one day, he wanted one that was right in between Tempest and Adonis. His mind wandered, briefly, to the rather attractive A.I. avatars of the two ships having sex and giving birth to a lovechild that _he_ would claim. He shook his head and started laughing at the ridiculous image.

Percy relayed his thoughts to Annabeth as they walked past Tempest. Annabeth started laughing so hard that her avatar had to vanish for a couple of seconds until she could regain her composure. When she reappeared, she had a decidedly more serious expression. “Don’t lose hope, Percy,” said Annabeth. “When we left ARKIV there was a team working on prototype technology that can allow ships to be grown organically. Next thing you know, they’ll be having sex, too.”

Percy made a face at Annabeth. He wasn’t so sure what to think about that. Besides. He didn’t think he could quite handle the thought of Tempest snarking at Adonis while fucking. “Anyway,” said Annabeth. “It’s actually a pretty good idea to take principles of design from Tempest and Adonis both.”

Annabeth pulled up a miniature hologram of Adonis, highlighting the laser installations in front of the ship. “We have a really efficient fusion reactor onboard, so laser weapons are the best we can manage without compromising space. Adonis can also project a significant shield, but he _really_ can’t take a big hit.”

Annabeth twirled the hologram above her palm. “But that’s the whole point of his design. He can just disappear from sight if we need him to, either by just bolting or activating stealth.”

Annabeth brought up another diagram of Adonis. She pointed out panels of hull spaced at regular intervals around the body of Adonis. She snapped her fingers and the panels retracted, revealing docks into the ship filled with miniature ships. “We use drones to harry the enemy—maybe even take down a fighter or two, but Adonis can’t really take down another capital ship on his own.”

“But Tempest can definitely hold his own in a dogfight,” said a painfully familiar voice. Percy’s head whipped around at the sound. He saw Jason walking toward them from the direction of Cerberus. “He can also move around rather quickly—which helps in the dogfighting—but he can’t run circles around enemies like I think Adonis can with ease.”

Percy took a step back at the sight of Jason. He was both happy, and afraid. Jason looked like he wanted to keep walking, but he stopped, thankfully. “Sorry,” said Jason, somewhat sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.” Jason scratched the back of his head. “Anyway, I was meaning to talk to you, Percy.”

“O-okay?” said Percy, lips pursed. Unwillingly, his thoughts turned to all the perverted things he’d been fantasizing of doing to Jason—and having Jason do to him. His cock twitched in his pants, and some small part of him wanted nothing more than to fall on his knees and suck Jason’s member. “W-what about, sir?” he said, stammering.

Percy looked at Annabeth, eyes somewhat frantic. She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. He didn’t feel the gesture, but he appreciated it. “I’m going back to my house,” said Jason. There was a look of pity and regret in those blue eyes that Percy just couldn’t quite put a finger on. “We have a situation, and we have reason to believe that maybe someone I trusted isn’t entirely himself.”

Percy looked at Jason, then at Annabeth. He was surprised to see a thoughtful look on Annabeth’s face, instead of confusion. She turned to look at him, then down at her hands. She slid her thumb over the side of her index finger twice. _Later._ Percy frowned, but turned his eyes back to Jason. “O-okay, sir,” he said, “B-but what do I have to do with it? D-do I have to go with you?”

“N-nothing,” said Jason, tripping over a word for the first time since Percy had known him. Jason quickly straightened himself, though. “Well, as far as I know, at least, you have nothing to do with it.”

Jason walked up to Percy and Annabeth. He reached over and placed his hand on Percy’s shoulder. It was comforting, as far as Percy was concerned. Despite his best efforts, it was also somewhat arousing. “I just wanted to let you know since it’s my fault you’re aboard Scipio anyway.” Jason sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Will you be alright if you stayed here for a few more hours? At least until we’re sure the situation is safe planet-side?”

Percy looked at Annabeth. She just nodded at him. “O-of course, sir,” he said. “I-I have friends aboard anyway. I’ll stay with them… I-if you need to find me, you’ll know where to find me.”

Percy wouldn’t have been surprised if he looked down and saw a brick wall being built between him and Jason as Jason’s face took on the confident, borderline-arrogant expression that had been there the first time they had met. “Good,” said Jason. “I will see you later, Percy.”

Jason walked past Percy and Annabeth. Despite his better judgment, Percy turned around to watch Jason go. Jason stopped. Without looking back, he said, with something unreadable in his voice, “I’ll be going now.” Percy felt his heart skip a beat. “Take care of him, will you?” said Jason, voice heavy with something new.

Percy looked at Annabeth. Her expression was grim. “You don’t have to tell me that, Jason,” she said.

Jason continued walking, but stopped again before long. He looked over his shoulder, shockingly blue eyes meeting Percy’s. It was like Jason had something to say, but Percy had to watch helplessly as Jason’s jaw tightened and Jason walked away.

As he and Annabeth continued toward Adonis, Percy couldn’t help but look back, again. Tempest’s engines roared to life and the ship began to levitate off of the hangar floor. Percy’s eyes flitted over to the massive airlock doors as they grated open. Tempest shot past him, stopping just short of the second set of airlock doors just as the first began to close.

Air rushed past Percy and Annabeth as the airlock was evacuated. Sirens started wailing as the second set of doors opened and Tempest zoomed off into the void.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Here we are. Chapter 17. I haven't written a single word of Nova Olympia since probably around Chapter 6, so I have about 5 more weeks to start writing before I run out of backlog.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, guys. :3. I liked writing this one. All the techie stuff. Probably not for everyone, but I'm writing for the sake of writing and for the sake of the story, so demographics don't particularly concern me.
> 
> What did you think of this chapter? :3. Leave a comment. I would love to know. :D.


	18. Dumb and Dumber

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this chapter being late, guys. I had exams up the wazoo, but now I'm officially done university for the summer! So woot! :3.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this one. :D.

Percy was _fairly_ sure that Adonis’ interior was just too good to be true. It _had_ to be too pretty to be physically possible. That was the only way that it made sense, not to mention the fact that the interior of the ship seemed a lot larger than it had any right to be, from the outside.

Annabeth kept _trying_ to convince him that Adonis just _looked_ smaller on the outside because of its strange geometry, but Percy wasn’t entirely sure he bought that explanation.

Whatever the case, Percy followed Annabeth’s avatar, openly gawking at the sleek design of the ship’s interior. The hallways were organic and easy on the eyes. There were very few harsh edges, and even the intersections between corridors made it seem like every hall gently curved into the other. Nothing about the ship was precise and clinical, unlike most other starships that served C-Vita Lyrae. Percy almost felt as though he were walking through a modern art installation instead of a starship.

“Like it?” said Annabeth, gesturing all about her. Percy nodded. He definitely did.

Percy stopped for a moment, though, and wondered if _he_ would want a ship that looked like Adonis. “I could get lost here,” he said. It was true. He decided that his personal ship wouldn’t be so pretty. “I could probably spend hours just walking around Adonis.” Yep. He would definitely be too distracted by the ship’s interior to get anything useful done.

Annabeth chuckled and patted his shoulder. “Adonis is my ship,” said Annabeth. “My baby, almost. Between you and me, a cute boy like you walking through his corridors? He wouldn’t mind at all. Except he’s got a few prototype physical avatars and the last thing we would want is for him to jump you.”

Percy frowned at Annabeth, not sure what to think of that statement. “Wait,” he said, as he came to realize something about what Annabeth had just said, “Wait, wait, wait.” Percy narrowed his eyes at his friend. “Didn’t you say that Thalia and Hylla were co-captains of Adonis?”

“Well, they are, _technically_ co-captains of Adonis by rank.” Annabeth shrugged. “They’re actually the co-captains of Artemis, but since we’ve made Adonis our mobile base of operations, they’ve taken over.”

Annabeth ran her hand along the smooth wall that crept by beside the two of them. “I designed Adonis myself. A labour of many years of love.” Annabeth smiled to herself before kicking the wall. “He won’t stop reminding me he’s due for an update, though. Vain-ass ship.” Annabeth harrumphed. “I want to upgrade him, too, but I can’t _actually_ do anything to him while we’re on a mission. Honestly, that fucking _sucks._ ”

Percy wasn’t really sure what brought the rant on, but he wasn’t about to say anything about it. He did not understand a single thing Annabeth was talking about, but he just nodded along anyway. “Hold on,” he said, “why does Adonis need an upgrade?”

Percy thought back to the lap that he and Annabeth had taken around the outside of Adonis. “I don’t see anything wrong with Adonis. You’re using tech _we’re_ just prototyping, too,” he said. “Why would you need to upgrade him?”

“Don’t be silly, Percy,” said Annabeth. Percy glowered at her, but that just made her laugh. “Of course there’s nothing wrong with Adonis. I designed him, after all. A lot of the tech’s a few years behind what we have on ARKIV now, though, and some of it behind what you guys have over here. His laser arrays, for example, don’t even come near the power of the weakest ones on Tempest.”

“But,” said Annabeth, as she took Percy down another of the way-too-pretty corridors of Adonis, “What I really want is that prototype _Alcubierre_ drive from project WARP.”

Annabeth scoffed. “Leave it a group of men to toss a working _warp_ drive because it couldn’t move ships as small as Tempest.” Annabeth shook her fist at no one in particular. “Well take that, assholes. Adonis is _smaller_ than Tempest, and my calculations tell me that it will work for _me._ ”

Once again, Percy had no idea what Annabeth was going on about, but he just kept nodding along. He was aware that WARP was considered a failure, but not of the reasoning behind the project being scrapped. He decided to take Annabeth’s word for it, though he wondered why she was so confident in the tech.

“What?” said Annabeth, upon seeing the skeptical look on Percy’s face. “Tempest is quite wide and doesn’t have reactors as powerful as Adonis’. Adonis also has a thinner profile, so the bubble wouldn’t have to be nearly as big. Just a bit longer. _I_ think that makes it perfectly doable to warp space and time around Adonis but not Tempest.”

Percy threw his hands up in the air. “I’m not about to argue Physics with you, Annabeth,” he said. “I’m a biologist. Not a physicist.” Percy made a face and shuddered. “I wouldn’t dream of doing so much…” He shivered again, “ _Math._ ”

Annabeth looked at Percy with mock-disgust. “You don’t like math?” she said, clinging to the wall behind her, arms splayed to either side. “Heathen,” she whispered, pointing a trembling finger at him.

“Shut up,” said Percy, shaking his head from side to side as he tried not to laugh. “I missed this, Annabeth,” he said, after a brief silence. “I know I went into hiding, but I know what you’re capable of… You could’ve found me and helped out…”

Annabeth stopped walking. “You could also have tried to contact me, Perce,” said Annabeth. Percy’s cheeks flushed red. “But, granted, even if you had tried, you wouldn’t have been able to.”

Annabeth pulled Percy into a side corridor. “Look,” she said, looking about nervously. “Don’t tell anyone that I told you this, but after I received the signal that Zeus had tried to break into your laptop, we needed to move our timetables up.”

Annabeth frowned and leaned against the wall. “We were hoping to have a few more weeks before Zeus caught on to what we were doing, but…” Annabeth sighed. Percy knew the story. Of course he did. He _lived_ the damn thing. “It seems he was half a step ahead of us the whole time. Look.”

Percy looked at Annabeth’s hand. What seemed to be a rocky globe floated above her open palm. “That’s _Gelos_ , natural satellite of the gas giant D-Vita Lyrae.” Percy watched as a patch of the surface began to blink. Annabeth zoomed in to it.

“This is our base of operations,” said Annabeth, as she revealed structure that seemed to spread two or three miles radially outward from the centre of a large crater on the moon’s surface.

Percy gawked at the sight. “You…” He wasn’t able to think of the words for a little while. “You mean you built that whole thing in three years?” he said. “That’s _insane._ ” Percy reached out to touch the diagram, but his hand passed right through it. “Is that why you weren’t looking for me?”

Annabeth looked apologetically at Percy, but honestly, he understood. “Yeah,” she said, scratching the back of her head. “I’m kind of the head honcho of architecture for the Hunters currently in the system. I was working full time on the lunar base.” Annabeth reached out and touched Percy’s shoulder. “I was hoping that you could hold out for a little while until we could get everything together and get you and Bessie out safely.”

“No, no,” said Percy, still somewhat in awe of the detailed schematic of the lunar base that Annabeth had just presented to him. “Holy shit,” he said, “I understand why you weren’t able to talk to me in three years. Wow. What do you need such a big base for?” he said.

“Well,” said Annabeth, “Adonis isn’t our mothership. Artemis is. But like ARKIII, it can’t support people indefinitely like ARKIV. Once we realized that this whole campaign against Zeus would take some more time, we had to set down to construct more tenable living arrangements.”

Percy frowned. “Yeah,” said Annabeth, “I know what you’re thinking.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “We thought we would have more time to scout out somewhere more conducive to life, but Zeus forced our hand. Now that we’ve set down, the clock is ticking on us, too.”

“So…” said Percy, looking into the glittering silvery eyes of Annabeth’s avatar. “We’re all in the same boat, after all…” He looked away, then turned back, frowning. “Wait a minute,” he said, “None of this explains why Bessie and the Oracle drive are so important to keep away from Zeus.”

“I’m afraid that will have to wait for when we get to my room,” said Annabeth. “Hylla’s already given the go-ahead to tell you what we know for now, since a lot of it involves _you_ in particular.”

“Me?” said Percy, incredulous. “Why me?” he said.

“You might not want to know.”

\----------

“Sir,” said Tempest, standing in front of the airlock with his arms crossed over his chest. “I, as the artificial intelligence of your personal starship, must _emphatically_ recommend that you do not follow through with whatever it is you have planned in that twisted mind of yours.”

Jason rolled his eyes at Tempest and tried to push past the A.I. A single whirring and clicking drone stopped him. “Sir, let me call for backup, just in case something goes horribly wrong. If you would like, you can go in first. We will follow. We just want you to be _safe,_ sir.”

“Tempest,” said Jason, at his patience’s end, “get out of my way.” He pushed the single drone aside and tried to take a step toward the airlock. A wall made of drones got in his way, spheres whirring and clicking in tight formation from floor to ceiling. “Don’t make me say it, Tempest,” he said, threateningly.

“Good gods, sir,” said Tempest, planting his holographic fists on his hips. “Who on this cursed planet is going to update my source code if you die in there because you’re an idiot, huh?” said Tempest. Jason looked down and saw a probe poking at his chest, bouncing on and off it.

“Don’t you love me enough to live for me?” said Tempest, faux-tears streaming down the sides of his face. It was adorable, really, as far as Jason was concerned, but it was also rather aggravating. The drones that blocked Jason’s way formed hands that took him by the shoulders and shook him. “No one irons out the bugs in my code like you do!”

“Stop being a drama queen, Tempest,” said Jason, trying to push his way through the swarm of drones. They repelled him. “Tempest,” he said, frustrated and exasperated, “as your captain, I command you to stand aside.”

Tempest sighed and begrudgingly returned the swarm of drones to their niches. The petulance was a farce, of course. Since Jason had explicitly commanded Tempest to get out of the way, the A.I. had had no choice but to comply.

“Sir,” said Tempest, clearly desperate to dissuade Jason now or at least prevent any harm to his person. Jason felt bad—he really did—but at the same time, he knew that he had to do this. Jason stepped into the airlock just as Tempest’s holographic projection banged on the reinforced glass window into the room. “Sir,” said Tempest, “If you’re going to go and do something this stupid, at least let me come with you.”

“What?” said Jason, skeptical of the request. “In the suit?” he asked, incredulously. “Tempest, that technology is in its infancy. We haven’t even tried plugging you into it for longer than a minute. What if you blow up or something? How am I supposed to get back to Scipio?”

“I am so glad to know you care so much, sir,” said Tempest, dryly. A humanoid robot, recessed into one side of the airlock, suddenly whirred to life. LED strips all along its arms, legs, torso, and head, glowed green. Its front visor, which was a screen, blinked to life and displayed two greenish triangular shapes that represented Tempest’s eyes. “But,” said Tempest, “If you’re allowed to be stupid, sir, then I’m allowed to be just as stupid.”

Tempest strode out of the airlock with Jason. He grabbed a plasma rifle from a nearby rack of weapons. He sighed and muttered under his breath, “Gods have mercy on me. Scipio is never going to let me live this down.” Tempest cocked the rifle, listening to the satisfying sound of the atmospheric intake sucking in air. “This had better be worth it, sir,” he said.

“I told you that you didn’t have to come, Tempest,” said Jason, as he watched the A.I. line up a shot with one of the targets on the aft bay wall. “And you better make sure you can control your airlock and aft bay from in there. Gods forbid I start feeling like I locked my keys inside my ship.”

Tempest shrugged as the door to the airlock hissed shut behind them. “Don’t worry, sir,” he said, “I checked the wireless link to my core, and, if calculations are correct, I should be well within safe functional parameters everywhere on the grounds of your property except for that shack that you shielded from most typical communications frequencies.”

Tempest pulled the trigger, an arc of lightning shooting from his shoulder, along his arm, and down the length of the barrel. The plasma ball seemed to boil as the electricity made contact with it moments before it was launched forward.

Tempest flew backward into the plasma rifle rack, just as Jason covered his ears for the inevitable explosion. When the dust cleared, the nano-engineered reinforced ceramic target at the far end of the aft bay was smoking and sporting a hole as large as a modestly sized watermelon.

Jason made no move to approach Tempest. He did not like the look of the plasma rifles that had all clattered to the floor thanks to the bungled shot. “Okay,” said Tempest, artificial joints and muscles whirring as he pulled himself to his feet, “note to self—do not fire plasma rifle unless head vaporization is required (or desired).”

“I’m not so sure that was even supposed to happen to begin with, Tempest,” said Jason. Tempest’s boarding ramp lowered to the floor of Jason’s personal hangar. “Maybe you should do as I suggested and not use the mechsuit for now.”

The LED’s all over the faceplate of the robot turned an angry shade of red as Tempest scowled at Jason. “Okay, okay,” said Jason, “no need to get antsy.” He raised his hands to either side of his head since he did not want to aggravate the armed A.I. when he himself had nothing of a similar firepower in his hands.

“If you want, you can scope out the grounds,” said Jason. “Try and detect if there are any hostiles in the area. Keep your scanners open for the airspace, too. If you know any way to detect nanomachine activity, use it.”

“But you are to keep out of my way,” said Jason. “Do you understand me? Under no circumstances are you to follow me into the house when I go inside.” Tempest looked like he was about to say something, but Jason didn’t give him the chance. “Those aren’t suggestions, Tempest. They’re your captain’s orders.”

Tempest’s jaw clamped shut, and while Jason knew that Tempest’s faceplate couldn’t actually move, he heard the sound of teeth grinding being played through the speakers mounted underneath where Tempest’s mouth should have been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? :3.
> 
> This chapter is a bit of set-up for the chapters that are coming up, but don't you just love the relationship between Tempest and Jason? :3. They're adorable. Tempest is a sassy-ass motherfucker, and he's GREAT. :3
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that. Leave me a comment! I'd love to read what you have to say.


	19. Octavian

Jason descended the ramp slowly, warily, just in case there were people waiting in ambush to shoot him the moment he left his ship. There wasn’t anyone. In fact, the hangar was always as it was, empty and deathly quiet.

Jason walked up to the airlock that connected his personal hangar to the transparent, reinforced dome that encircled his entire property. Jason watched, with building apprehension, as Tempest connected to the infrared security system that he had had implemented within the house and on the grounds.

“Sir,” said Tempest, the crude eyes projected on the visor of the robot blinking, “There seem to be no hostiles in the vicinity. Visual and infrared scans have exposed no signs of life on the grounds. However, I believe that Octavian is waiting for you in front of the main entrance. He seems to be in a rather compr—”

“Thank you, Tempest,” said Jason, cutting the robot off. “I’ll take it from here.” Jason placed his palm on the print scanner in front of the airlock. A brief moment later, followed by a ding, the doors to the airlock hissed open. “Patrol the grounds if that will make you feel better, but remember your orders.”

Jason stepped through the secondary doors of the airlock onto the garden path that led up to the front of his mansion. Jason had always found the path itself to be hauntingly beautiful. The vines that he had coaxed into growing up the cast-iron lampposts that shed yellowish sodium lights on the cobblestone path were still flourishing and offered quite a bit of atmosphere to the place.

Flowers the colour of milky gold paraded down either side of Jason. Each one grew from a spiny stem entangled among many others in pristine hedges kept trimmed by an army of drones that he had employed to take care of the premises.

The grounds of the mansion were dead silent. If Jason had been anyone else, he would have found the quiet unsettling—eerie. However, he found the silence more than a little bit comforting.

Jason bent down to cradle a flower in between his fingers. He had bought the mansion looking forward to a life together with Luke. They had, early on, expressed the desire to take in children that were orphaned, or had otherwise experienced the pain of having a parent that just wasn’t interested in them. It was the only reason that Jason even bought such a large house, to begin with.

Jason brought the milky-golden flower to his nose. It still smelled as he remembered it. Just like Luke. Despite the machismo that Luke had so desperately tried to put forward as, officially, a member of Jason’s bodyguard, there had been a softness inside the boy that he had just found _intoxicating._

After the disastrous end of that relationship, though, Jason had, in his rage, fired every single person that worked under his roof. He had re-hired them into his company, of course, but he had never again allowed anyone else but himself to tend to his home. The silence was deliberate. He liked to keep the place lonely. It was a bitter reminder of what he had lost to Zeus.

More than that, it served to stoke the anger that Jason carried inside of him, that righteous fury that he so often directed at Zeus.

Before Octavian, Jason hadn’t appreciated coming home too often. It was a reminder of what he’d lost, yes, but there were days when he needed to neither be angry nor sad. However, when he hired Octavian, the younger man’s insatiable lust managed to keep him distracted enough whenever he visited.

Thinking back to what he had just discovered, Jason had to wonder, how much of what he’d had with Octavian was real? How much of it was just the compound in his come? It hurt to think of, and he could feel his chest constricting at the prospect of everything having been a lie.

Jason peered over the edge of the fountain that stood in the heart of the manor grounds. Directly above him was the zenith of the dome that protected his home from the harsh elements of the surface world.

Jason made his way down the path to the front of his home. Marble colonnades replaced the hedges, which were further away from the path here than they were at the entrance to the dome. Wrought-iron lamps hung from the columns, casting flickering light on the large cobbles of the path.

Jason climbed up the steps to the front of his house. The columns that the architect had insisted on installing loomed over him like silent, foreboding giants. He set his eyes forward, though he wasn’t able to see past the stainless steel installation that made up the window of the front door.

Jason reached down and pressed his hand to the biometric scanner—one disguised as an inconspicuous doorknob—and twisted it. He felt a brief sting as his handprint was scanned. A ding and a click later, and the door swung open of its own volition.

Jason stepped into the foyer of his home, only to stop, pupils dilating at what he saw. His heart began to race in his chest, blood thundering through his ears. The heady scent of arousal in the air alone was enough to make his dick rigid as steel in his pants.

On all fours, chest pressed to the floor as a slick black dildo slid into and out of his hole, was Octavian. Wearing nothing but the jockstrap that Jason had affectionately called Octavian’s home uniform, the straps of which accentuated the boy’s butt-cheeks, Octavian was moaning wantonly like a cheap whore.

“Oh Daddy!” said Octavian, looking over his shoulders. Jason found himself instantly lost in those pale ice-blue eyes that were glazed over with need. “You’re here,” Octavian whimpered.

Jason bit his lower lip. His fingers involuntarily crept to his groin. He undid the button then unzipped the fly that held his pants together. Jason’s pants slid down his legs and pooled around his ankles.

Jason stepped out of his slacks, tearing off his underwear before he knew what he was doing. “I need you inside me, Daddy,” Octavian panted, thrusting the dildo faster and faster into his needy hole. “So—Ahh!—someone took the last of your come I had saved…”

Octavian whimpered. The sound tugged at Jason’s heart. Octavian sounded like he was on the verge of tears. “Daddy, I need your come inside me. Please. Please. Please…” Octavian rested his forehead on the arm that he had braced against the floor. “Fuck me, Daddy!” he said, “Please!”

As though possessed, Jason knelt behind Octavian, stroking his hard cock. “Oh yeah, boy,” he growled, “Daddy’s going to fuck you real hard. Just the way you like it.” Octavian whimpered as Jason wrapped his tie around the boy’s neck and pulled.

Jason reached down with his free hand. He slapped away Octavian’s hand, which was still pistoning the dildo into and out of the boy’s hole. He moved the dildo aside, but didn’t take it out of Octavian. He aligned his cock with the boy’s entrance and snapped his hips forward, sheathing himself in one motion—to the sound of Octavian’s strangled scream.

Jason pulled harder on his tie, wrapping it around his fist. Octavian’s back was practically flush with his chest, but he didn’t particularly care. The boy was choking, but he was too far gone. “How badly do you want Daddy’s come?” said Jason, voice gravelly as he thrust into Octavian without mercy.

“I-I don’t want your come, Daddy,” Octavian whimpered, fingers scrabbling at the length of fabric that was cutting off his air. “I _need_ your come, Daddy,” he choked out, gasping for air as Jason readjusted his grip to loosen the tie he’d used as a makeshift collar.

“Oh yeah?” said Jason, “Even if it means I tear up your ass?” he said. Octavian whimpered, hips bucking back to meet Jason’s thrusts. Jason braced his free hand on Octavian’s chest, nails digging deep enough to draw blood. He bit into the flesh of Octavian’s shoulder. “Beg for it, slut,” he growled.

\----------

Percy rounded one of the many not-quite-corners of Adonis and started, surprised. One moment, he was with Annabeth’s avatar, but by the time that it dawned on him that it was _too_ quiet, Annabeth was gone.

“Annabeth?” Percy whispered, looking around him with furrowed eyebrows. He was a bit concerned, frankly. Had there been another attack? The avatar had vanished without a trace. What the fuck was he supposed to think? The only warning he had before he was seized was the sound of doors he hadn’t even noticed hissing open.

Percy was about to let go a strangled scream when the darkened room that he had been pulled into slowly began to grow brighter. “Annabeth!” he exclaimed, when he caught sight of a familiar pair of silvery eyes and a flash of blond hair the colour of milky gold. He grunted when a pair of arms pulled him into a hug that was too warm for its own good.

“Glad to finally see you in person, seaweed brain,” said Annabeth with a smile. Percy staggered backward at the unexpected—but affectionate—punch to his shoulder. “I have to admit,” she said, as she chuckled, “I was surprised how much taller you were in person.”

For the first time since he had met her avatar, Percy finally took the time to actually _look_ at one of the few friends he’d had back when he had been with the Hellenes. He was rather surprised to find that he stood a few inches taller than her.

“Stop gawking at me, Perce,” said Annabeth with a laugh. Percy pitched forward when she slapped the part of his back right between his shoulder-blades. “Come in, come in,” she said, with a smirk. “Don’t be afraid to get a little comfortable.”

Annabeth gestured toward the interior of the room. Percy, for the first time, saw the entirety of the room that he’d only ever seen in brief slices during his time with Bessie. Annabeth’s living room looked much more spacious now than it had seemed at first glance. In fact, the place was downright cozy. It was precisely the image of the futuristic room that was so often portrayed in 21st century movies that, despite his embarrassment at admitting such a thing, Percy loved to death.

“Glad to finally meet you, too,” said Percy. He certainly felt a lot better now that he had seen Annabeth in the flesh, but more importantly, he appreciated that she had managed to take his mind off of his thoughts about Jason. As troubling as what she had revealed to him might have been, he was glad that he was worried about other things now—instead of his sudden, intense, and utterly inexplicable desire to have Jason’s cock slammed hilt-deep in his ass.

“Come on,” said Annabeth, again, when Percy remained rooted to the spot. She pulled him into the living room proper and sat him down on the sleek couch that was in the middle of it all. Percy squeaked, surprised at how soft the cushions were. He sank deeper into his seat before he was even able to pull himself out of the form-fitting foam.

“There’s someone I want you to meet,” said Annabeth, leaning over one side of the couch and pressing a button that immediately made the couch’s cushions a little bit more rigid.

A door, set in the side of the room in such a way that it was hardly noticeable from the entrance, slid open. A woman, tall and beautiful, walked out of the darkened room beyond the door. She was about the same height as Percy, with intense eyes that seemed to shift colours with every breath and with every movement.

The stranger was beautiful, as far as Percy was concerned. More beautiful than her face, though, Percy felt, was the way that she and Annabeth stood together. His heart skipped a beat, a sort of longing sadness settling on his shoulders as he realized that he wanted to have the same kind of bond that the two women _obviously_ shared.

“Percy,” said Annabeth, threading her fingers through the other woman’s, “this is Piper.” Piper walked over to Percy, pulling Annabeth behind her. She shook his hand, her grip stronger than Percy expected.

With Piper up close, Percy realized that she wasn’t as young as she had seemed from afar. There were lines around her eyes, probably from a lifetime of smiles, judging from the way they crinkled with her grin. Percy suspected she was about the same physical age as Jason.

“It’s nice meeting the infamous Percy Jackson,” said Piper, her wide grin melting into a knowing smirk. Percy had known her for barely half a minute and he already liked her. She seemed sincere and open in a way that few people did. He didn’t know what it was, exactly, about her, but he felt like he could relax around her.

“I hope you don’t mind me taking my leave now,” said Piper, eyes darting from Annabeth, to Percy, then back. “Hylla’s decided to take a few of us out scouting, just in case there are more of those bastards hiding out there.”

“Long or short?” said Annabeth, walking up to stand abreast of Piper. She leaned her head on the older woman’s shoulder.

“Long, I think. Hylla wants us to establish a perimeter far away enough that there’s going to be significant communications lag if we used the remote-control drones,” said Piper.

Something akin to concern briefly flashed over Annabeth’s face, but Percy quickly realized that Annabeth was much more in control than he had thought when the expression was quickly stifled. “Alright,” said Annabeth, gently stroking Piper’s arm. “Be safe out there.”

“Hey,” said Piper, pecking Annabeth on the cheek. “When have I ever not been?” Annabeth rolled her eyes at her partner, and Percy couldn’t help but _ache_ after what they shared. His thoughts turned to Jason and he wondered if _they_ could be like that. He forced his thoughts away and focused on the conversation happening in front of him.

“Besides,” said Piper, “this was supposed to be a surprise, so don’t tell anyone I told you, but we managed to capture one of the ships that ‘TITAN’ sent at us. She’s pretty big, actually. Lots of firepower. Clarisse has taken her to Gelos to get the scout ships. We’ve decided to name her Otrera.”

A light came on in Annabeth’s eyes. She got up on the tips of her toes and kissed Piper on the lips. “I see you know _exactly_ what that means,” said Piper, with a laugh. “Alright,” she said, “I’m going to go ahead and get with the others while we wait for Otrera to pick us up.”

Piper untangled her fingers from Annabeth’s. Moments later, the door to the room hissed open, and then shut behind Piper. Annabeth slid onto the couch beside Percy, nonchalantly throwing an arm over his shoulders. “I wanted you to meet her because it’s not just you with a taste for older folk,” she said.

“Well, she’s not technically my superior, but, _I_ am hers.” Annabeth smiled and patted the back of Percy’s hand. “It’s perfectly fine,” she said. “We can’t really choose who we fall in love with. Besides, it’s totally understandable if you like them a little bit more on the aged side.”

Percy could feel his cheeks warming, a pink tinge creeping into them. “Just like wine,” said Annabeth, with a wink, “they taste better the older you take them.”

Percy’s blush deepened, pink turning into a darker shade of red. He forced a laugh, but if he was being honest, he felt a little bit uncomfortable. He looked down at the floor between his feet. “Yeah,” he said, unable to help the tinge of discontent in his voice. “I’m sure you’re right.”

Annabeth patted Percy on the cheek. “Well,” she said, “whatever the case, I’m sure you’re dying to know why you felt so at-ease around Piper.” Percy hadn’t even realized that he _was_ until Annabeth pointed it out, but now that she had, he was morbidly fascinated with the answer.

“Piper just has a way with people, I guess,” said Annabeth. Her look was thoughtful and partly dreamy. “Honestly, I think she can charm the pants off of anyone if she wanted to, _but_ she’s more interested in the fighting stuff.” Annabeth must have noticed the strange look Percy was giving her, because she pinched his cheek again and said, “Don’t worry. Her charm has never quite worked with cute gay boys anyway.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how did you like that chapter? Jason finds Octavian—who's pretty much been turned into a drooling cockslut—and goes bonkers, thinking with his dick instead of his head, and Percy meets Annabeth's partner—Piper.
> 
> I still think that the dynamic between Jason and Tempest is adorable. Snarky, yes, but adorable all the same. What do you guys think? *grins* And what do you think is going to happen in the next chapter? *cackles evilly*


	20. Ganymede

“So,” said Percy, as Annabeth flitted through game menus to get round two of their Endless Galaxy showdown under way, “when are you going to tell me about what you know of the cluster-fuck with Zeus and what it has to do with me?”

As much as Percy would have loved to play Endless Galaxy, a wonderful bullet hell game done in the style of the old classics, he _did_ want to get to the bottom of his involvement in the Zeus debacle. Besides, Annabeth had totally destroyed him in the first round, anyway, and he was more than a _little_ bit sour at that.

Endless Galaxy was the _one_ video game that Percy had put any time and effort into which he had actually turned out pretty proficient in. Regardless, all those hours of figuring out and memorizing the patterns of every fucking boss in the damn game were for naught. Annabeth had had a good three quadrillion points more than he had at the end of their half-hour long session.

Percy sat back with a huff as Annabeth looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He was _also_ rather sour that she had a copy of the game. It had taken him forever to find a working copy on Nova Olympia, since apparently every kid on ARKIII had decided to take one of the more modern video games.

Percy looked back at Annabeth. They stared at each other for a good long while until Annabeth heaved herself off of the floor with a colossal sigh. “Alright,” she said, “your puppy-dog eyes won. I’m going to call Thalia.”

Annabeth walked over to the holo-screen hovering by the wall opposite where Percy and Annabeth had been sitting on the floor earlier. She snatched a silvery bauble from one of the cubes that made up the corners of the screen.

Annabeth seemed to press a button on the bauble but Percy couldn’t quite be sure. A few minutes later, though, a chime filtered into the room through the speakers that were cleverly hidden in the near-non-existent seams between floor, walls, and ceiling.

“Come in!” said Annabeth. The door to the room slid open, revealing a dark-haired woman that Percy was pretty sure was supposed to be Jason’s sister. He wasn’t sure he was remembering things properly.

Thalia walked over to Annabeth and Percy, saluting in response to Annabeth’s salute. “Stand down, soldier,” she said, with a laugh that was more carefree than Percy expected. She took a seat on the floor in front of Percy and held out her hand. “Percy Jackson, I presume?” she said, with a smile. “I can see why my brother has the hots for you.”

Percy blushed bright red at the comment, and it took nearly all of his willpower to shove his thoughts about Jason aside. “Also,” said Thalia, craning her head to look up at Annabeth. “Cut it with the formality, man. We’ve talked about this. Adonis is _your_ ship.”

“But protocol…” Annabeth muttered under her breath.

“Pfft,” said Thalia, scoffing at Annabeth’s insistence on adhering to protocol and the chain of command. She caught Annabeth’s wrist and pulled her down to the floor. “I’m not a stick in the mud, Annabeth. We’re in private, anyway.” Thalia grinned, though as far as Percy was concerned, the grin just made her more intimidating. “Besides, what Hylla doesn’t know isn’t going to kill her.”

Annabeth sheepishly scooted over to sit beside Percy, who, at this point, was fairly confused by the whole thing. The way that Thalia had walked into the room, all warrior grace and discipline had left him with the impression that she was going to be much more rigid than she had turned out to be.

Truth be told, Percy was _glad_ that Thalia seemed quite open, to be honest. As nice a woman as he was _sure_ Admiral Ramirez was, he didn’t think he would be able to listen to whatever she had to say over the sheer intimidation that he would have felt from her presence.

A few moments passed in silence as Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia settled into their places. “Where should I even begin?” said Thalia, a while later. She rested her hands on her knees, palms facing upward. “It’s such a long story. How we got here—how we even got involved in all the trouble with Zeus in the first place…”

When Percy looked up to examine Thalia’s face, he saw that there was a distant look in her eyes. He was a little bit worried he was dredging up bad memories, but Annabeth reassuringly squeezed his knee. “I guess I should start with the history of the ARK ships.” Thalia looked pointedly at Percy. “How familiar are you with the ARKs?”

“Uh…” Percy looked over at Annabeth. He was a bit unsure how to respond. He wasn’t expecting to be put on the spot like this. “Well, I know that they were sponsored by companies because planetary government didn’t have the funds to construct them, and the Martian and Lunar colonies were already contributing mining time to the ARK project…”

Thalia smiled at Percy, though it did little to settle his fluttering stomach. In a single deft motion, Thalia supported her entire body on a single hand and the sides of her feet—as though she was doing a side plank—and reached up to grab one of the corners of the holo-screen behind her. She gracefully returned to her original position afterwards.

The fluidity of the movement, and how quick it all happened, left Percy wondering whether he had hallucinated the whole thing. Nevertheless, he didn’t have the time to think too much about it. “You’re right,” said Thalia, “but did you know which companies sponsored which ARK?”

Percy shook his head. Thalia pulled up a holo-screen in the space between the two of them. Splashed across the screen were newspaper articles, each raving about the ‘salvation’ of the human race being built in geosynchronous orbit. “All the ARK ships were built as vessels to survive interstellar space and establish colonies on candidate extrasolar planets.”

“All the ARKs are privately owned, but are contractually obliged to have a certain portion of the population decided upon by the government and public entities,” said Thalia. “ARKI was owned by First Nome Holdings, and ARKII was owned by Nordic Enterprises.”

Thalia pulled up images of the finished ARKs. ARKI and ARKII were absolutely _colossal._ One of the images was, in fact, an infographic that showed the comparison of ARKII’s size with 2325’s New York City. The ship was twice the size of the already-massive city. “And there they are,” said Thalia, wiping away the images to replace them with more articles.

Percy looked thoughtfully at the reports that were splashed across the holo-screen. “They were genuine ark ships meant to establish colonies and ensure the survival of the human race.” The words gave Percy pause. Was Thalia implying that ARKIII and ARKIV weren’t?

“ARKI found a star with viable extrasolar planets on the way to its original objective and decided to take the risk. They established a colony around the star they name Apophis and they’re settled on one of the moons of Aten, a gas giant in the system,” said Annabeth.

An image of a sky dominated by a gigantic striped sphere appeared on the holo-screen. “New Egypt, they called the colony,” said Annabeth. “ARKII headed to Kepler 440b. They renamed the star Yggdrasil, but the planet seemed to be tidally locked with only a narrow equatorial strip that was habitable. They established a colony. Midgard.”

Annabeth pulled up a three-dimensional map of the system. Two other rocky planets were blinking with lights. Were they colonized? Percy supposed they were, but he didn’t want to ask. A couple of the rocky moons of the further-out gas giants also seemed to have lights on them. “They spread like wildfire across the system,” said Annabeth, with a laugh.

“ARKIII and ARKIV were both built by the Hellene Group of Companies,” said Thalia, “as I am sure you know by now.” Something hard slipped into Thalia’s voice, and it left a cold clammy dread in Percy’s chest. “ARKIII was supposed to take all of the colony scientists and engineers ahead to C-Vita Lyrae. ARKIV was supposed to follow when habitability was confirmed and infrastructure was built.”

Another chill ran up the length of Percy’s spine. Supposed to. He didn’t like that phrase, much less the tone with which Thalia said it. “At least,” said Thalia, as she pulled up an image of a news page with bright red letters printed across it like digital graffiti, “that was the official purpose for both ships.” ‘MURDERER’ was what the letters spelt out.

“Did you know that only the Big Three were taken aboard ARKIII?” said Thalia. “All other administrative staff of the Hellene Group were relegated to ARKIV.” Percy felt electricity in the air. He could tell that Thalia was about to drop a bomb. He wasn’t ready, but he didn’t think he ever would be.

“Zeus wanted _complete_ control over the company,” said Thalia. “That much became clear when my mother was ‘accidentally’ shot out of an airlock. They said it was accidental explosive decompression. No one onboard was convinced.”

Thalia looked at Annabeth. Percy noticed, for the first time, that Thalia’s lower lip was trembling. “Jason’s mother, Juno, died in a freak stasis accident. She drowned in the cryogenic fluid. Apparently there had been a leak in one of the breathing tubes that wasn’t noticed until it was too late.”

Thalia looked at the floor, seemingly weary all of a sudden. The sight made Percy’s chest tighten. “He didn’t care that we were all on another ship entirely that wasn’t even supposed to catch up to ARKIII until hundreds of years in the future. He wanted to eliminate _any_ possibility that people could get in his way.”

Thalia’s voice quivered, tears brimming in her eyes. Percy realized, then and there, how painfully similar Thalia’s eyes were to Jason’s. As much as he blamed the older man for the thoughts that plagued him now, he realized that he never wanted to see Jason’s eyes filled with tears like that. Annabeth reached across the space between her and Thalia, and Percy watched as all the tension in Thalia’s shoulders melted away.

\----------

The sex didn’t last too long. The beast inside Jason had wanted release, and it had seized it in the only way that it knew how—brutally. His seed spilled deep inside Octavian, the beast immediately lost interest in the boy.

Some part of Jason worried about what he had done to Octavian, but the larger part of him, driven inexplicably into the depths of lust by the smell of Octavian, didn’t particularly care at the moment.

With a lewd sound, Jason pulled himself out of Octavian. He looked down, disinterested, when Octavian collapsed onto the floor with a happy sigh and trembling thighs. He watched, head cocked, as his seed began to dribble out of Octavian’s puffy hole. He was a little amused when Octavian reached back and scooped all of it back in.

Jason stood from where he had knelt behind Octavian and looked around for the first time since entering his home. There was something else in the house; he could feel it. There was something electric in the air, but he couldn’t tell why, exactly, that was.

Jason’s eyes settled on something foreign to the house. It was a table set perfectly on the line of symmetry of the architecture of his foyer, the same distance away from the left staircase as the right. Atop the table stood a golden goblet. It was a chalice encrusted with gemstones of such quality that it was _clear_ whom the message was from, in case the cup itself was not enough of a clue.

As though in a daze, Jason walked over to the chalice and stared at it, apprehensive. What the fuck did his father want with him, now? Why the cup? Was it filled with poison? Was his old man losing his touch?

\----------

Thalia wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. “When Juno died, Rhea decided that it was time to put an end to all the madness,” said Annabeth. “She had stood by the wayside, just watching as Zeus and his two brothers in blood grew the company. She had some clout in the organization, but not enough to take over—not when it was clear Zeus still had some men aboard ARKIV.”

Percy _knew_ he’d heard the name Rhea before. He wracked his mind for the memory and eventually found it. Rhea. The government codename of Zeus’ mother. He also knew that she had treated Poseidon and Hades like her own son. “She knew some of us girls were trained combatants, so she found us and charged us with purging the ship.”

“By that time, the obvious murders of my mother and Juno had convinced planetary government that Zeus was not to be trusted,” said Thalia. “They sent ARKIV off to another candidate star-system. We waited, biding our time until we were well beyond the heliopause. That was when we struck and we wrested control of ARKIV from Zeus’ men.”

“Okay,” said Percy, “I get it. It was difficult. You got control. You came here because you couldn’t let Zeus get away with anything.” Thalia nodded solemnly, though Percy could tell she was a bit annoyed by his tone. “None of this explains _why_ he’s doing this.”

The look on Thalia’s face went from pained to sad. “Rhea has a suspicion,” she said. “Rhea thought that everything, the murder of my mother, the murder of Jason’s, the fact that ARKIV was never meant to leave the solar system intact, Zeus’ obsession with activating the Oracle Drive before anyone else—it’s all a desperate bid to bring someone that was once important to him back.”

A silence settled around the room. “Back from what?” Percy whispered, after a few pregnant moments. He felt like he knew the answer, but it made no sense. Surely Zeus wasn’t insane enough to try to bring someone back from beyond the pale.

Thalia heaved a sigh and averted her gaze. She looked over to the side, eyes distant. “Grandmother said that Zeus had very little love in his life. She was a single mother. She tried her best to care for him, to show him that he was loved, but she worked for the government and she was _always_ busy.”

“Rhea said that when Zeus had introduced her to a boy, one that made Zeus’ eyes light up in a way that Rhea had never managed to, she had been so happy.” Thalia’s voice dropped an octave. “She said that she still couldn’t imagine that the boy would also be Zeus’ doom.”

Percy felt something cold settle into the pit of his stomach. Thalia hadn’t answered his question directly, but she might as well have. Annabeth squeezed his knee reassuringly.

“The boy,” said Thalia, drawing in a shuddering breath. “His name was Ganymede. He was the light of Zeus’ life. But, he was sick, too.” Thalia shivered, and Percy couldn’t help but do so, too. “Zeus begged Rhea to get the government to take a look at Ganymede, but there was nothing that Rhea could do. Medicine was beyond her purview.”

Percy took a moment to ponder everything that had just been said. No, something still didn’t quite make sense. Why did Zeus want anything to do with the Oracle Drive? It was a propulsion system, not a miracle machine.

“Eventually, the pollution on earth became bad enough that Ganymede couldn’t leave the house. Then, he died,” said Thalia. “Earth dying took its toll. It took joy and light and life from the humans that lived there. Moving to the moon and Mars helped a bit, but by then it was too late.”

Thalia fell silent, and Percy couldn’t help but shiver again. The way that she had spoken earlier had made it seem like the words were not her own but of someone much older and more experienced. “The lyre will be your guiding light,” whispered Annabeth, in the thick quiet that followed.

“Rhea said that Zeus kept mumbling that phrase over and over again. He became obsessed with Lyres, she said. Kept four in his room alone, apparently.” There was a whirr and a click as the four silver cubes that formed the corners of the holo-screen reconstituted themselves into a single inert cube in Thalia’s palm. The atmosphere in the room was almost suffocating.

“Where did he get that?” said Percy, though he wasn’t sure he actually wanted to have his question answered.

“Grandmother never quite moved on from the old ways,” said Thalia. There was a small smile on her lips—affection, if Percy were to hazard a guess. “She believed it was either god or the devil that revealed the words to him. All she knows is that the house was filled with light one night, and then the next day, Zeus was babbling that.”

Percy pinched the bridge of his nose. The pieces were beginning to fall together, and though there were still some missing here and there, he was starting to think that he could see the big picture. There was only one more major problem.

Percy stared at his hand, as though his fingers held a piece with his name written in bold blue letters across the front. “What do I have to do with all this?” he asked.

“Rhea asked us, in strictest confidence, to only reveal the secret with you,” said Annabeth. “ ‘The lyre will be your guiding light’ is only the first line in a stanza that Zeus kept repeating.”

Percy frowned. With him in particular? He thought about the ramifications for a moment before he decided that it was impossible. “You mean, with the person you think the rest of it has to do with, right?” he said.

Percy had to wonder, for a moment, if Zeus believed _him_ to be the reincarnated form of his lover. That was a thing in some of the old traditions, right? The idea made him sick to his stomach. Even if it were true, he didn’t think he could ever swallow the thought of being with a mass-murderer.

“Right,” said Thalia, lips thin. Percy could tell that she was feeling uncertain about all of this, from the way that her eyes darted from him to Annabeth and then back. Annabeth nodded. Thalia sighed. She was hesitant, but she recited the rest of the small poem that Zeus had apparently taken to heart.

_The lyre will be your guiding light._ _Find the serpent and bull in one._ _And when the light o’er darkness won,_ _The sea-son will make all things right._

Percy’s blood ran cold in his veins. There was no doubt about it. The stanza talked about him and Bessie. The problem was that if this had all happened before ARKIII and ARKIV were built, the poem was at least three centuries old.

There was no way. It was simply impossible.

\----------

Jason peered over the rim of the chalice. There was nothing in it, no enticing drink that was probably poisoned, no dart trap that would kill him instantly. There was only a neatly folded square of paper weighted down by a thick golden coin.

Jason picked up the coin. He looked at it. Examined it. The coin bore an ax on one side and the unmistakeable face of Julius Caesar on the other.

Jason plucked the paper from the goblet. It was a note, handwritten in the angular and harsh script of his father—not much different from the man himself. “ _We should talk more, son,_ ” said the note. “ _You could have died today, after all. Twice._ ” Jason felt a chill run down his spine, anger bubble up in his stomach.

“ _Do you still want to save your precious Castellan?_ ” said the note. Jason could almost hear his father’s taunting laughter. “ _You know my story. You know why I do this. You of all people understand my pain._ ”

Jason shivered. He could almost remember the way that his father used to stroke the side of his cheek, whispering delusions of grandeur into his ear. “ _Don’t you want to help me with all your power to get him back? I could get him back to you. You need only ask. I need a strong ally, Jason. You need to make a choice. Come to me soon. Maybe the coin might help your decision._ ”

Jason looked at the coin again. It was clear, the message Zeus wanted to send. On the one side was an ax. An executioner’s ax. _His_ head on the chopping block. On the other side was Julius Caesar, a man that wielded more power and authority than Jason dared dream. It was a promise from his father.

Jason wasn’t convinced. He flipped the coin, the metal ringing as it spun through the air. It landed ax-side up. The ax was also a weapon—a symbol of the crusade he was fighting to free not only himself but also C-Vita Lyrae from Zeus’ grasp. From the tyranny that was threatening to seize it. Julius Caesar was also a savage reminder of the man that his father was.

Jason had already proven himself a capable leader. He didn’t need money or power. He didn’t want it. His authority came from the mutual respect between him, his friends, and his employees. No. Julius Caesar _was_ him, and Julius Caesar was a reminder that if he ever accepted Zeus’ offer, he would forever have to fear for the betrayal that was bound to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one's a bit late... I got distracted by some things. :3.
> 
> I hope you still like it, though! :D. I definitely enjoyed writing this plot-heavy chapter. Tell me what you think! I would love to see your theories about that little "prophecy" there. :3.


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